$80 million project installs over 9.5 miles of new water mains, sewers in three NY neighborhoods

(UI) — The NYC Department of Design and Construction (DDC), the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the NYC Department of Transportation (DOT) has announced the completion of a $79.7 million infrastructure project that has rebuilt 3.5 miles of Queens streets and brought more reliable drinking water service plus improved drainage and street conditions to the neighborhoods of Bayside, Auburndale and Flushing.

The project, which began in September 2017, was managed by DDC and funded largely by DEP and DOT capital dollars.

“This $80 million investment means safer streets, more reliable tap water delivery and less street flooding in Bayside, Auburndale and Flushing,” said DEP Commissioner Rohit T. Aggarwala. “DEP has the largest capital budget in our history and we are working closely with our partners at DDC and DOT to ensure similar upgrades are brought to communities across all five boroughs.”

The project, stretching from 156^th Street on the west end to 216^th Street at the east, replaced over five miles (26,815 ft) of older distribution water mains with new pipes ranging from 8 inches to 24 inches in diameter. More than two miles of new trunk water mains were also added to the neighborhoods, which included 5,775 ft of 72-inch mains and 8,295 feet of 48-inch mains. Fire protection was enhanced with the replacement of 89 old fire hydrants and installation of 17 new fire hydrants.

In addition to water mains, nearly two miles (9,985 ft) of storm, sanitary and combined sewers were replaced and 23 new catch basins were added in the project area to improve stormwater drainage.

As part of the final street restoration, 19,210 ft of new curbs were added the project area and 8,200 feet of old curbs, 432,000 sq ft of asphalt and 82,800 sq ft of concrete sidewalks were replaced.

To span the Clearview Expressway, the project used micro-tunneling techniques to build three small new tunnels for water, sewer and private utilities under the highway from east to west at 38^th Avenue.

The project was designed by DDC’s in-house design team. Construction was completed by C.A.C. Industries, Inc. and engineering services were provided by Entech Mirabal Engineers, PLLC.

“Flooding has gotten progressively worse in northeast Queens, so we are very pleased that the City has finally arrived at the conclusion of this long-awaited infrastructure upgrade,” said State Senator John C. Liu. “Climate change demands immediate and sustained action, and this project will provide much needed improvements to our drinking water, sewer and storm drainage and street conditions. This is a great first step to providing some relief to our community, so we thank DEP, DOT and DDC for working together to get this job done.”

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