[clairity]

put the BQE underground and you get the best of both worlds. scrub all the pollution (not CO₂) out of the exhaust and it's environmentally positive too. sure, it's expensive, but we're the richest country in the world. boston did it and everyone loves the result now despite the grousing about cost and inconvenience during construction.

[addicted]

If you’re digging an underground tunnel in NYC throwing low throughout roads in it is the worst idea possible.

There is absolutely no reason to not put a subway track, which would have an order of magnitude higher capacity, in an underground tunnel instead.

[clairity]

you could also put in a subway track down the middle while you're at it, but the primary point of undergrounding the road is so we get our most precious above ground space back for people, not cars. it's not simply about optimizing throughput, though that's also a worthy, and compatible, goal.

[anamexis]

Boston's Big Dig was a 1.5 mile (2.4 km) tunnel under the harbor, that cost 22 billion dollars and took 15 years to build.

The BQE is 11.6 miles (18.7 km) long, and runs through Brooklyn and Queens.

[zachkatz]

So remove it. Way simpler.

[sedan_baklazhan]

This is not a "plan". What are the proposals for transit on the place of BQE? Where will all the traffic from BQE go? To local streets?

[clairity]

you're right, it's an online discussion. the traffic from the BQE already goes to local streets. the point is to give the above ground space back to people, and perhaps clean the air while we're at it.

[sedan_baklazhan]

Currently the traffic enters BQE on one local street and exits it most likely far away. When BQE is removed, the traffic will go through a lot of local streets, increasing noice and air pollution in residential areas.

[clairity]

not remove, but rather replace. put the BQE underground.

[sedan_baklazhan]

This is VERY expensive. A lot of new subway lines could be built at the same cost.

[clairity]

yes, cost was mentioned in my original post.

[MisterTea]

There is a ton of underground infrastructure this idea would run afoul of.

[clairity]

pretty sure the contractors and engineers would consider that before they started digging. do you think boston didn't have underground infrastructure already?