Some Brooklyn Heights residents not happy over proposed BQE repairs

NEW YORK - The consensus in Brooklyn Heights, especially among residents who drive appears to be that a plan to repair the crumbling triple-cantilever section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway that runs between Atlantic and Sands Street will only make a already-bad traffic situation even worse.

"The idea that this major thoroughfare is going to be reduced to a limited numberof lanes is really hard to fathom," said one person who spoke to FOX 5 NY. 

“It is engineering and safer to have two lanes that work, and not three lanes that don’t work,” said Carlo Scissura, Chairman of panel of experts tasked with finding ways to improve the BQE. "That will alleviate traffic."

Mayor Bill de Blasio has also threw his support behind the plan on his radio show Friday morning.

According to the city, the infrastructure issue also stems from overweight trucks on the BQE. Mayor De Blasio signed an executive order Friday to crack down on trucks over 40 tons using the roadway. Federal guidelines say 40 tons is the maximum weight allowance, but according to highway sensors, some trucks have been carrying more than twice that weight

The next step is for the City Council to present a report on the BQE dilemma, expected this month, but many residents in Brooklyn Heights say they’ll be staying behind the wheel, regardless.