The Nassau Expressway (Route 878) is a heavily commuted roadway that connects Southwest Nassau to Queens. Every day, approximately 40,000 vehicles travel along the expressway, which results in heavy traffic conditions, especially during rush hour. The roadway also serves as a storm evacuation route for some 400,000 people, designated as the route for the ambulance, fire vehicles, and police cars during emergencies, as well as residents that must evacuate during flooding or other natural disasters.
The expressway is currently in need of major repairs, given its significant number of potholes, exposed gravel, and poor drainage. Large puddles and flooding of the roadway occur with even minor rainfall. Although it was used as an evacuation road during Sandy, it flooded severely during the storm.
Repair projects along the expressway have been delayed for decades; most recently, in 2012, New York State delayed the project because engineers had concerns over soil and nearby tidal wetlands. As of now, design work is not expected to begin until at least 2023 and completed in 2025.
Senator Charles Schumer and State Assemblyman Phillip Goldfeder this week called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to jumpstart a storm-surge protection and repair plan for expressway; Schumer and Goldfeder specifically asked that the Army Corps, experts in developing plans to mitigate soil erosion and flooding, utilize one of three options to pay for the urgently needed repairs:
- Inclusion in the Rockaway Reformulation Project, due to the expressway’s close proximity to Jamaica Bay.
- The Continuing Authorities Program (CAP), designated for flood mitigation planning and construction on critical infrastructure
- Special Investigations Funding, which allows the Army Corps to do a site visit, meet with locals, and then issue a recommendation if there is federal interest.
By Eugénie Bisulco
