Brooklyn-Queens Expressway truck ban: Up to $7K fines for trucks violating weight limit
NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York City is cracking down on oversized trucks on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway as of Monday.
Trucks weighing more than 80,000 pounds can be fined up to $7,000.
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an executive order at the recommendation of a panel of experts who say oversized trucks are rapidly deteriorating conditions on a section of the highway in Brooklyn Heights.
The heavy trucks have made concerns about the stability of the BQE section "more urgent," and the city will begin "very substantial immediate repairs" on the section in the spring.
Sensors placed in the road found that some trucks have weighed as much as 170,000 pounds.
The panel of specialists appointed by the mayor to determine the future of the .5-mile stretch realized the conditions were becoming dire.
The section runs from the area of DUMBO to around Carroll Gardens, from Sands Street to Atlantic Avenue.
One recommendation by the panel is to reconstruct the busy section, reducing it from six lanes to four.
Mayor de Blasio said that proposal "is certainly worth looking at," but cautioned it's "not a guarantee people get out of their cars. It is a guarantee of traffic jams and other challenges."
The stretch carries 150,000 daily vehicles, including 15,000 trucks. The panel said that could be reduced to 125,000 vehicles with the right policies.
The report says the stretch is in worse shape than previous believed and could be unsafe for drivers in five years.
It recommends immediate repair that will require extensive overnight and weekend closures for at least five years.
A more involved fix could take 10 years.
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