Photo: NYS DOT
Union Turnpike Exit Ramp Construction in 2019
Feb. 13, 2020 By Kristen Torres
A newly constructed eastbound Union Turnpike bridge over Grand Central Parkway is set to open Friday, according to the state’s Department of Transportation.
The new bridge will be opening to drivers at midnight on Feb. 14, weather permitting, and is located just west of the existing entrance ramp. The existing eastbound Union Turnpike bridge will be removed, resulting in a new, permanent traffic pattern.
The new Union Turnpike overpass is part of the state’s DOT’s $365 million Kew Gardens Interchange Phase 4 project, and is the second bridge to be completed thus far.
The first bridge completed was part of the exit ramp from the westbound Grand Central Parkway to westbound Union Turnpike/Queens Boulevard.
DOT officials urged drivers to be careful when driving through the construction zone—speeding fines are doubled where workers are present.
One Comment
I have often wondered whether the speed limits (and doubled fines for breaking them) were in force WHEN no workers were present. (You write “where workers are present,” which doesn’t really answer that question, since presumably the entire work zone is subject to the reduced speed limit – not just part of the work zone “where workers are present.” Could you have made a typo?) In some other jurisdictions – other states, and maybe even upstate NY – signs are covered when no work is being done. In NYC, of course, the “powers that be” cannot be bothered to do that, so the admonition to slow down – drastically – is always posted and is often ignored (though hopefully it IS pretty much obeyed when workers are actually present.)