Woodside pols want deteriorating LIRR bridge fixed
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The LIRR bridge at 69th Street and Queens Boulevard has drawn the attention of local pols who want to see it fixed. Photo from Senator Michael Gianaris/Twitter.
By Ryan Schwach
A more than a century old, crumbling Long Island Railroad bridge in Woodside has drawn the attention of local electeds who want to see funding allocated to fix it.
The bridge, located on 69th Street just off of Queens Boulevard in Woodside, has recently begun shedding debris, dropping rocks and other bridge parts onto the roads and pedestrians underneath it, according to City Councilmember Robert Holden.
“That whole bridge is an accident waiting to happen,” Holden told the Eagle. “It's really a disgrace that it's gone this far that nothing has been done over this time.”
And while Holden is sounding the alarm now, the issue is not new, he said.
“My first term, we got complaints that there was debris falling,” he said. “So we went down, looked at it and we certainly complained to the Long Island Railroad that this bridge is in bad shape.”
The issues with the bridge have also been noticed by the neighborhood Juniper Civic Association and State Senator Michael Gianaris.
On April 5, the Juniper Civic tweeted about a dangling piece of concrete, which was reported to 911. Gianaris’ office saw the tweet, and the senator said the MTA was contacted and the situation was resolved.
"When alerted to a safety hazard by the Juniper Park Civic Association, I addressed it right away with the MTA and it was resolved,” said Gianaris. “I will continue to work with the MTA and LIRR to ensure this bridge and others are safe for riders above and pedestrians underneath."
Holden wants more done, and says a sewer project underway underneath the bridge has the potential to further compromise the foundation of the bridge.
“It was a mess down there then, and it's even worse now you have a sewer project,” he said.
“We were still not getting answers about when they're going to even address this,” he added. “So this thing is going to deteriorate very quickly unless they do something.”
As for what should be done, Holden says it should be a state issue since it is an MTA bridge
“The city does enough, they're not going to maintain the bridges that are owned by the state so we shouldn't be asked to do that,” he said. “That's where we probably need federal aid because there is an infrastructure bill.”
“The last thing I would have is the New York City taxpayers foot the bill, it should be federal and it should be done quickly,” he added.
“The MTA prioritizes the safety of our customers, employees and neighbors,” MTA Spokesperson David Steckel said in a statement to the Eagle. “The agency performs regular inspections of all the bridges in the system to ensure their safety.”
The MTA added that the nets under the bridge, which Holden said debris were falling through, is not for catching debris, but rather for bird mitigation.
“It's a joke,” said Holden. “So what are we waiting for? Are we waiting for it so somebody could sit with a chunk of concrete? Are we waiting for the bridge to collapse?”
