Gov. Hochul: Feasibility Study Completed For Proposed Interboro Expressway, Which Would Connect Queens And Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — The Interboro Expressway is one step nearer to turning into a actuality.

It’s not a street, however a brand new mass transit, CBS2’s Kevin Rincon reported Thursday.

Connecting Queens and Brooklyn by a brand new commuter rail line is a decades-old concept that’s lastly gaining traction.

“For those who can shave 30 or 40 minutes off somebody’s commute each single day, that could be a reward,” Gov. Kathy Hochul mentioned.

READ MORE: Gov. Hochul Says Proposed Brooklyn-Queens Rail Service Would Join Almost 1 Million Residents To Extra Subway Strains, LIRR

Hochul was in Brooklyn to announce the completion of a feasibility examine, setting the stage for neighborhood involvement within the undertaking. She additionally introduced renderings of what the 14-mile transformed freight line would appear like. It’s all in an effort to chop down on these lengthy bus rides.

“Seventy minutes. Who needs to have a 70-minute bus journey. I’ve been on each pothole between these two boroughs. It’s not a enjoyable expertise whenever you’re on a bus journey,” Hochul mentioned.

In Center Village, Queens, that new line would give individuals extra choices to get into elements of Brooklyn with out having to chop by Manhattan.

“Not all of our journey is Manhattan-centric anymore,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority Performing Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber mentioned.

Lieber mentioned the aim is to attach 17 subway strains in all.

“We’re speaking about among the driest transit deserts, as we are saying, within the metropolis,” Lieber mentioned.

READ MORE: Gov. Kathy Hochul Lays Out Agenda In 1st State Of The State Tackle

And for commuters, extra choices are all the time welcomed.

“It’s simpler for Brooklynites, like myself, to have the ability to simply get on one or possibly two trains and don’t have to take action a lot up and down, escalators, transfers to a complete bunch of trains. It’s simpler. It’ll be lots simpler,” mentioned Shakia Livingston of Bedford Stuyvesant.

“I feel that’s an amazing thought, particularly for the individuals who need to rely on mass transportation and don’t have to return all the way in which into the town to then return into one other borough. That is unnecessary for me,” mentioned Jeannie Carrasquillo of the Decrease East Aspect.

The Riders Alliance calls the proposed line essential to the town’s economic system.

“And would show New York’s potential to suppose large and construct large and likewise to ship fairness to individuals,” mentioned Danny Pearlstein, the Riders Alliance’s coverage and communications director. “This is able to join dozens of communities of coloration, giving individuals higher entry to alternative then there was in a long time.”

One side that’s additionally being examined is extending the prevailing freight line by a brand new tunnel into New Jersey, an effort that might dramatically lower the variety of vans we see out on the roads.

CBS2’s Kevin Rincon contributed to this report.