Fate of Gowanus Canal Bridge Still Up in Air

Pictured: the Union Street Bridge over the Gowanus Canal. Image via Google Maps

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN — The NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) has not made any decision on the fate of the Union Street Bridge, a DOT spokeswoman said Tuesday, responding to an earlier report that the city had decided to replace the movable span with a fixed bridge.

Built in 1905, the Union Street Bridge across the Gowanus Canal is suffering from severe structural deterioration, a process accelerated by flooding during Hurricane Sandy, according to DOT officials.

At an April community board meeting, DOT official Joannene Kidder said the city was deciding whether to replace it with either a new movable bridge that can be opened, or with a fixed bridge.

Kidder said a movable bridge will cost 2 to 3 times as much as a fixed span, and would take 30 to 39 months to build. A fixed bridge, she said, would take 24 to 30 months to build, and would also be cheaper to maintain.

However, because a fixed bridge would prevent some boats from reaching the head of the waterway, the city would have to compensate landowners along the Gowanus Canal for the impact the change would have on their property's value, Kidder said.

According to the DOT spokeswoman, the department is currently conducting a "Navigational Impact Study" on the bridge project, to be completed by the end of the year.

The U.S. Coast Guard must approve any bridge plan settled on by the city, the spokeswoman said.

To get that process started, after its study is complete, the city will submit a proposal for a fixed bridge to the Coast Guard, to see if the maritime agency gives it the green light.

If so, the city will then make a final decision about the type of bridge to build (spending time designing a fixed bridge wouldn't make sense without prior Coast Guard approval, the spokeswoman explained).

Kidder, the DOT official, said in May that construction on the bridge could begin in 2019.