Rockaways Prepare To Get Pounded By Both Sides….

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October 11, 2007

Residents who reside anywhere within the Rockaway peninsula should prepare for massive headaches from mass transit & the roadways. The massive headaches will be the result of multiple construction projects that will take out multiple roadways & mass transit for stretches of time. Here are the changes that Rockaway residents will have to deal with:

    Two lanes & ramps on the Cross Bay Bridge will be closed until next May as part of a $57 million deck rehabilitation project.
    The Marine Parkway Bridge will be closed on weeknights from 11 p.m. to 5a.m. until Oct. 26.
    Rockaway Beach Blvd. is closed between Beach 67th & Beach 73rd Sts. as part of the Arverne by the Sea construction and not expected to reopen until the end of the month
    The A train will have service suspended between Howard Beach-JFK Airport & The Rockaways on weekends until Oct. 29. Shuttle buses will be in place that will travel over the Cross Bay Bridge.
    The Q35 will be suspended during the overnight deck work on the Marine Parkway Bridge.

Community Board 14 District Manager Jonathan Gaska shared comments with The Daily News about the construction. Here is what he had to say:

“We’re getting complaints about the situation but we need the work, even if it’s a little inconvenience now. Mass transportation is limited on a good day. You’d think that people from all the agencies would sit down and coordinate with each other.

However Mr. Gaska was not the only person to comment on the situation. Howard Beach Democrat Councilman Joe Addabbo had this to say about the Rockaway travel nightmare:

There are only a few north-south arteries that connect Rockaway with the mainland. And we never know when an emergency will arrive. God forbid something should happen and we need to evacuate Rockaway. I need assurances that the roadways will be reopened at a moment’s notice.”

The MTA has responded by saying emergency vehicles would be allowed on the Marine Parkway Bridge during the overnight closures. As far as Mr. Gaska’s comments about community involvement in the decision process MTA Bridges and Tunnels spokeswoman Joyce Mulvaney had this to say:

“We’ve kept everyone in the loop and looked into any potential impact the bridge work may cause. We’ve been working with the community from the get-go. The 37-year-old Cross Bay Bridge is in need of repair.”

System Conditions

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