Amid Major BQE Construction, LGA Exit Ramp To Close Again

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Getting to La Guardia Airport for early morning flights is going to be a bit more complicated on Friday morning, the New York State Department of Transportation is warning drivers.

The ramp from the eastbound Brooklyn-Queens Expressway to eastbound Grand Central Parkway — which is commonly used to access La Guardia Airport — will close from midnight to 5:00 a.m. on Sep. 10, weather permitting, the transportation agency said in a news release.

The ramp should reopen as usual at 5:00 a.m. on Friday, the NYSDOT said.

Drivers can instead take Exit 5, and follow the signed detour, to get to the Grand Central Parkway during these closures.

The closure, which is the second this month, is part of a $14.3-million project to rehabilitate the Astoria Boulevard Bridge, which runs directly over the ramp from the eastbound BQE to the eastbound Grand Central Parkway.

The closure also coincides with major construction on the BQE, which reduced the number of open lanes on the highway in both directions from Atlantic Avenue to the Brooklyn Bridge as of last Monday.

While some commuters area already complaining about added traffic, city officials say the closures and repairs will add 20 years of life to the crumbling roadway.

Unlike the infamously decaying BQE, the NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said that the construction on the Astoria Boulevard Bridge is part of the agency's "ongoing commitment to restore aging infrastructure and build it back better than before, creating a more resilient transportation network that promotes growth and improves quality of life."

Construction on the project — which will include adding a new roadway, steel beams, and upgraded lighting elements to the boulevard — kicked off last December, and is expected to be completed in spring of 2022, according tot he NYSDOT.

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