VWE provides passenger and commercial truck access routes to JFK Airport, which is one of the largest in the U.S. for personal and business travel, and international air cargo. As part of the project, the team will lengthen nine bridges that carry heavily used avenues over the VWE, allowing for future roadway widening. Dewberry will also replace two ramps and provide improvements to address geometric deficiencies. Four of the nine bridges will be completely replaced while the other five will be lengthened and have their decks replaced. All the bridges require complex staging and an innovative method to build new abutments behind the existing ones, while keeping the bridges fully operational.

“When the VWE is widened in its final phase, not only will it help to reduce traffic in the local communities, but it will be the gateway from JFK Airport to New York City that the governor envisions,” says Dewberry Design Manager, Paul Nietzschmann, PE. “It is very exciting to be a part of that effort.”

Dewberry is partnering with Greenman-Pedersen, Inc. on the design. This project is anticipated to be completed at the end of 2023.