The replacement of the Kosciuszko Bridge

Abstract

The Kosciuszko Bridge carries a 1.8-km-long segment of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway over Newtown Creek between Brooklyn and Queens in New York City. The roadway is a vital link in the region's transportation network, carrying over 170,000 vehicles per day. Due to structural and operational deficiencies, the existing structure was replaced. The new bridge consists of two parallel structures, one eastbound and one westbound, with main spans mirroring one another. Each structure consists of a single tower cable-stayed main span over Newtown Creek with unbalanced main and back spans. This was the first cable-stayed bridge to be constructed in New York City, joining the ranks of the City's most iconic bridges. The paper will discuss the two main span structures and will focus primarily on the design and construction of the Westbound, Phase 2 bridge. Some of key design aspects will be outlined, including outboard cable anchorages, a concrete-filled counterweight and other details intended to facilitate construction, maintenance and inspection. The Eastbound, Phase 1 bridge was constructed under a design-build contract, and the Westbound, Phase 2 bridge as a design-bid-build. The paper will also touch on some of the design aspects that were refined during the second phase.