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DOT suspends Cross-Bronx Expressway bridge rehab project
By
Giulia Heyward
Published May 18, 2026
Modified May 18, 2026
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published May 18, 2026
Modified May 18, 2026
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Plans to rehabilitate a stretch of the Cross-Bronx Expressway are on hold after years of pushback from Bronx residents and elected officials who argued the state’s proposal would worsen pollution and endanger residents’ health by widening roadways.
The state Department of Transportation announced Monday it is suspending the Cross Bronx Expressway Five Bridges Project and will not release the project’s final environmental assessment.
The project aimed to repair or replace five aging bridges along the expressway. But community groups and elected officials criticized parts of the proposal, arguing it would worsen congestion and pollution in a borough where asthma rates are among the city’s highest.
Last year, DOT dropped plans for an elevated diversion road after opponents said it would increase traffic and harm the tree canopy near the Bronx River and Starlight Park.
In a statement on Monday, NYSDOT New York City Regional Director Erik Koester said the agency had scaled back the proposal after community feedback but could not reach an agreement on how to move the project forward.
“Despite our best good faith efforts to bring this safety project forward, we have been unable to come to an agreement on how to successfully advance this project,” Koester said.
Koester said the agency would continue monitoring the bridges and make repairs as needed to preserve safety along the corridor. Earlier this month, debris fell onto a roadway connecting the George Washington Bridge and the Cross Bronx Expressway, narrowly missing drivers.
Local environmental advocates applauded the decision.
Siddhartha Sánchez, executive director of the Bronx River Alliance, said the state’s remaining proposal would have widened parts of the expressway by another 50 feet, bringing the expressway closer to nearby public housing residents and increasing pollution exposure along the corridor.
“We have always said that we understand that the bridges need to be repaired,” Sánchez said. “The question is how to reduce the harm to the local environment and people who live here.”
Mychal Johnson of South Bronx Unite, who has lived in Mott Haven for more than two decades, said residents already deal with heavy truck traffic tied to the expressway.
“The actual pollution is unmanageable at the moment and adding more to that is unjust,” Johnson said. “We are welcoming the news of not continuing the cycle of harm.”
He continued, “The traffic we are engaging with on a daily basis — our kids are waking, going to school and coming home — it’s a lot. The more we can get together and make solutions, it’s a win.”
This story has been updated with a comment from the Bronx River Alliance.
Tagged
bronx
transportation
Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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