Major Work Completed on $1.4 Billion
Van Wyck Expressway Job in Queens
NEW YORK—New York State officials announced on Oct. 23 that main line work on the $1.4-billion Van Wyck Expressway Project has been substantially completed with the opening of new managed-use lanes for taxis and high-occupancy vehicles in both directions between the Kew Gardens Interchange and Atlantic Avenue and John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens.
A centerpiece of the project, the managed-use lanes will provide speedier trips to and from the airport for taxis and other multi-person vehicles, thereby encouraging their use and reducing congestion along the main line highway. The new lanes, which opened Friday (Oct. 23) morning, are one of several new features and safety enhancements added to the Van Wyck Expressway as part of the project, which will be considered fully complete once work to rehabilitate nearby service roads is finished later this year. The Van Wyck Expressway’s new managed-use lanes will effectively operate as high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. They will be open to private vehicles, taxis and for-hire vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger. The lanes will also be open to buses.
The $804-million third phase included the construction of the managed-use lanes and the replacement, rehabilitation or construction of 10 bridges that span the Van Wyck or carry the expressway over another roadway. The contractor on the design-build project is Tully Construction Corp. with STV Incorporated and Mueser Rutledge Consulting Engineers PLLC.
Additionally, several exit and entrance ramps are being reconfigured to enhance safety and the area sewer system upgraded to better handle stormwater runoff and help prevent flooding in neighborhoods throughout southeast Queens. The drainage improvements included a $135-million, double-barrel sewer segment built in partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, to address the chronic flooding problem experienced in southeast Queens.
The $342-million first phase, performed by Posillico Inc. in a joint venture with El Sol Contracting, was completed in 2023. The project rehabilitated or replaced nine overpasses that carry traffic over the expressway, extending their lifespan and creating enough space beneath the structures for the managed-use lanes.
The $318-million second phase, which began in 2021, has replaced and improved four bridges carrying the Long Island Railroad Main Line and the Atlantic and Montauk branches over the Expressway near Jamaica Station. Signal equipment, power infrastructure and drainage systems on the approaches to the new bridges were also replaced as part of this phase. The Atlantic Avenue bridge was also replaced, and the northbound and southbound Expressway service roads between Archer Avenue and Atlantic Avenue were reconstructed. The contractor on the second phase is Halmar International, LLC with Henningson, Durham & Richardson Architecture and Engineering, PC and Jacobs Civil Consultants Inc.
Published: October 28, 2026.