The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is reconsidering its proposal for a contentious highway expansion alongside the Cross-Bronx Expressway due to significant community opposition and media coverage. This decision marks a notable change of course after Streetsblog revealed plans that would potentially increase traffic congestion in the Bronx.
Originally, NYSDOT intended to construct a traffic diversion road to facilitate ongoing repairs on an elevated segment of the Cross-Bronx Expressway, specifically between Boston Road and Bronx River Parkway. Following these repairs, officials had envisioned transforming this diversion into a ‘community connector’ featuring lanes for general traffic, buses, and a separate pathway for cyclists and pedestrians.
However, widespread outrage among community members and advocates has prompted a reevaluation of the project. NYSDOT is now exploring several alternatives, including options for highway widening, limiting the diversion structure to bus, bike, and pedestrian use only, or scrapping the diversion entirely in favor of placing a bike and pedestrian path directly adjacent to the renovated expressway.
The agency is currently soliciting public feedback and plans to issue an environmental assessment this summer, which will analyze the effects of each project option. The final decision is expected to be announced in September.
During an open house event on Wednesday, Catherine Leslie, the head of the agency’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Special Projects Bureau, emphasized the importance of public input in shaping the assessment, stating that certain project possibilities may not make it into the environmental assessment based on community feedback.
Community advocates have responded positively to the DOT’s willingness to adjust the project based on public sentiment. Siddartha Sanchez, Executive Director of the Bronx River Alliance, expressed gratitude that the DOT is receptive to community voices, saying, ‘Expanding the Cross Bronx Expressway will only bring more pollution and harm to our neighborhoods.’
Sanchez reiterated the community’s stance: ‘We want to fix the bridge without adding a new highway structure. We urge DOT to abandon this expansion and work with the community on equitable alternatives that actually serve our needs.’
The state has defended its original plan by suggesting that rebuilding the elevated structure could shave two years off the anticipated project timeline, allowing for completion in four years rather than six. Additionally, proponents of the diversion structure argue it could provide a crucial new east-west connection within the borough, which currently has limited options for cross-river travel.
Currently, local residents primarily rely on 174th Street or 177th Street and East Tremont Avenue to navigate across the Bronx River. Yet, environmental advocates remain skeptical, arguing that any new east-west connection should not be constructed in a manner that overshadows community parks or adds to the borough’s existing congestion.
One concerned Bronx resident raised this issue during the open house, questioning the practicality of the proposed plans. ‘Everything’s gonna be at the highway level for the most part, and seeing how it gets circuitous, it just really seems counterintuitive,’ said Aazam Otero, a local cyclist.
Otero highlighted a common concern among cyclists and pedestrians regarding the proposed changes, stating, ‘When I’m looking at this as somebody who bikes around, I think do I want to go around all this stuff, or do I want to just get on the 174th Street Bridge and go across? With some of the options, it doesn’t necessarily seem like I would be drawn to them.’
image source from：https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/06/06/gov-hochul-reconsidering-cross-bronx-expressway-expansion
