City Commits $45 Million To Redo Dangerous Three-Way Intersection In The Bronx

By Jonathan Custodio, The City

July 30, 2025

The Department of Design and Construction approved a $45 million contract for one of the city’s longest stalled plans to reconstruct a corridor of dangerous intersections in The Bronx, according to a post published in the City Record on Tuesday.

The reconstruction, first proposed 17 years ago, is intended to reshape an area of West Farms that has proven treacherous to both pedestrians and drivers. The clogged corridor is home to four bus stops, a bus depot, a post office, multiple schools and is used to access Sheridan Boulevard and the Cross Bronx Expressway.

There have been at least 246 car crashes involving 358 injuries and two deaths at or very near the intersection of East 177th Street, Devoe Avenue and East Tremont Avenue since August 2011, according to city data that only goes back that far and is mapped on the NYC Crash Mappers website. Oddly, the same data showed four deaths two years ago. The data shows 49 more crashes and 81 injuries since THE CITY last reported on the intersection in March of 2023

The improvements would include shortening pedestrian crossings, additional sidewalks and curbs, roadway resurfacing and connecting Starlight Park and Bronx River Park via the Bronx River Greenway, a pathway for pedestrians and cyclists that is meant to run continuously throughout the borough. It would also upgrade street lighting, traffic signals, the water main and sewage system and add trees.

Drivers merge from multiple lanes at East 177th Street and Devoe Avenue in The Bronx, July 29, 2025. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY

Staten Island-based DiFazio Industries, which completed seven miles of new sewer systems and water mains in Queens Village in 2023, is spearheading the reconstruction.

DDC spokesperson Ian Michaels said construction is expected to begin later this year.

“We are excited to make progress on this key corridor, which will make incredible pedestrian and vehicular safety improvements,” he said in a written statement. “After thoroughly studying and confirming all details, we have now selected a contractor and expect to start work on this project later this year.”

He added that “this is an incredibly complex project, incorporating traffic studies, tidal wetland protection, tests to determine the structural integrity of a local bridge, MTA overhead rail lines, enhancements to the local water distribution and stormwater drainage systems, street lighting and street signal timing studies.”

DDC told THE CITY that it anticipates the project will take about three years to complete and the agency is now awaiting the contractor to be approved by the city comptroller.

Outstanding Questions

As THE CITY previously reported, DDC and the New York City Department of Transportation first introduced a plan to rework the intersection in 2008, three mayoral administrations ago.

It has not been a simple endeavor to get everyone on the same page. In addition to community input, the project requires coordination with at least five different city and state agencies, including a playground operated by the city’s Department of Education, sewer mains managed by the city’s Department of Environmental Protection and the Sheridan Expressway owned by the state Department of Transportation.

Multiple streets converge under the elevated tracks at East Tremont Avenue in The Bronx, July 29, 2025. Credit: Alex Krales/THE CITY

When THE CITY visited the intersection in March 2023, several drivers ran red lights, including one behind the wheel of a school bus, and sped past buses and double-parked cars. A bus driver had also warned nearby pedestrians to exercise caution near a traffic light after an ambulance driver had crashed into it two weeks prior.

While there’s a contract now, Rafael Moure-Punnett, district manager for Bronx Community Board 6, which has led the community push for reconstructing the intersection, said on Tuesday that it’s still too soon to celebrate.

“After 17 years of delays, the construction on the Tremont / Devoe / 177 St capital project has yet to be initiated. Community Board 6 is unclear on the status of the project, with little proactive communication from DDC since late 2023,” he told THE CITY in a written statement. “Questions raised by Community Board 6 about the scope and timeline of the project were never answered by DDC.”

This press release was produced by The City. The views expressed here are the author’s own.