Stretch Of Franklin Avenue To Close For Weeks Amid Safety Upgrade

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — An ongoing upgrade to Empire Boulevard intersections will close down a stretch of Franklin Avenue during weekdays, according to city officials.

The Franklin Avenue block — between Empire Boulevard and Sullivan Place — will be closed between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays starting this Thursday, April 1, according to a notice shared by Community Board 9.

The closure will let construction crews replace the sewer and water main on the block as part of a renovation of two Empire Boulevard intersections. Officials have said this phase of construction will last between four and six weeks.

The Empire Boulevard redesign was first announced in 2015 and aims to improve pedestrian safety near Washington and Franklin avenues and an intersection near Utica and East New York avenues, according to the project.

The project is now slated to wrap up construction in late 2022, a year later than its original estimated completion date in the fall of 2021, officials recently told Community Board 9's Transportation Committee.

The safety upgrade project comes after nearly 500 people were injured near the two intersections between 2009 and 2013, ranking Empire Boulevard in the top 10 percent of dangerous Brooklyn corridors, according to a presentation at the time.

Construction crews are putting in slip lane closures, wider sidewalks, shorter pedestrian crossings and new public space to help with the safety issues. The project will also improve signal timing at Utica Avenue and create a block of two-way traffic on East New York Avenue, according to the plans.