Century-old bridges deteriorate over busy Brooklyn subway
Two century-old bridges above a busy Brooklyn subway station have grown so corroded from a lack of maintenance that city officials have begun questioning their structural integrity, engineering records show.
The bridges support the sections of Newkirk and Foster avenues on either side of Newkirk Plaza, which sits above the trench where the B and Q subway lines run. An engineering assessment published by the city last month shows the steel on each crossing is full of holes, and the concrete decks are deteriorating.
Exposed, rusting rebar is in clear view on both bridges. Small, white stalactites are visible on the Newkirk Avenue crossing, a sign that water has seeped through for years.
The city transportation department issued a notice last month calling for a consultant to help devise a plan to fix the crossings. If they were to fall down or become unsafe, it would be a disaster for subway riders in South Brooklyn.
The notice said the bridges were both built in 1907 and “no major rehabilitation took place since then.” Their sorry state highlights a growing challenge for city officials: Much of New York’s infrastructure has outlived its useful life, and repairing it threatens to be highly disruptive for daily commutes.
