NEW YORK—Construction will start on City Island Bridge in February and Bronx officials are saying the public should be allowed to give input before construction starts.
Replacement of the bridge connecting City Island with Pelham Bay Park in the eastern Bronx will start in February next year, according to the Department of Transportation (DOT).
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said with construction beginning in just six months, DOT should begin the Uniform Land Use Review Procedure (ULURP) process as soon as possible.
“The people of City Island have the right to voice their concerns or support for the construction of a new City Island Bridge through the ULURP process,” Diaz said in a statement.
A DOT City Island transportation study from 2007 said “Proposed widening of the bridge roadway will also necessitate changes to the city map, thereby requiring a ULURP review with the New York City Department of City Planning.”
The ULURP process provides residents with information and a chance to comment on the proposed construction. It would also give the borough president, community board, and city council a formal context to offer recommendations and commentary on the project.
Councilman James Vacca said in the statement, City Islanders have already expressed concerns for the cost and design of the bridge.
“If the Department of Transportation’s own documents show the need for a ULURP action in order to replace the City Island Bridge, that process must begin before construction starts on the bridge, not after.”
Mayor Michael Bloomberg first suggested replacing the bridge with a new “high-tech” one in 2003, according to NY Daily News. The price tag at the time was $32 million, but now construction could cost $149.5 million.
The steep rise in budgeted costs for the bridge came as residents asked that a temporary bridge, used while the new bridge is under construction, have three lanes, rather than just two, a DOT spokesman told NY Daily News.
DOT told NY Daily News that the review process will happen at the same time that the bridge is constructed, not before.
Construction on the new bridge should be completed in 2016.
City Island measures roughly 1.5 miles by 0.5 miles, and had 4,362 occupants at the 2010 census.
