- City:
- Brooklyn, New York, New York City, NY
- Site Type:
- Infrastructure and Utilities, Roads, Bridges, and Tunnels
- New Deal Agencies:
- Work Relief Programs, Works Progress Administration (WPA)
- Started:
- 1941
- Completed:
- 1942
Description
Among the traffic improvement projects in Brooklyn undertaken by the WPA and described by the New York Times in 1941 was that which impacted a major traffic artery connecting Brooklyn and Manhattan: the Manhattan Bridge and Flatbush Avenue Extension.
The work would “[expedite] Brooklyn-bound automobiles during the evening rush hours and [allow] for a greater diffusion of traffic …” One notable “hazardous reverse curve and steep grade” was eliminated entirely. The WPA also added additional traffic lanes, removing “heavy granite walls and balustrades” so to ease a major traffic bottleneck.
Along the Flatbush Avenue Extension three safety islands were added between Lafayette Street and Fulton Street.
Source notes
"To Eliminate Bridge Bottleneck"; The New York Times, Aug. 17, 1941Site originally submitted by Evan Kalish on April 15, 2014.
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