More than 60% of the New York City metropolitan area’s produce, fish, and meat pass through the Hunts Point Food Distribution Center, but the market has never had a direct highway connection. The daily load of 20,000 vans, box trucks, and 18 wheelers have historically traversed Hunts Point peninsula’s surface streets, adding to quality-of-life issues in the borough.

The project widens the Bruckner Expressway, reduces traffic congestion, provides interstate access ramps to Hunts Point market, and shifts truck traffic off local streets onto the highway. The project scope includes constructing new parks, park improvements, park access, and protected bike lanes. It also adds safety improvements to over 20 intersections along Bruckner Boulevard by adding curb bump outs, new traffic signals, and improved ADA-compliant crossings. A previously vacant area has also been developed for potential use as a farmer’s market.

To achieve the construction completion date of August 2025, the AECOM/Dewberry joint venture team broke the program into three individual mega-projects that could be bid out and constructed in a six-year period, enabling certain construction projects to overlap between the three design-build contracts. The contract required extensive coordination and approval from numerous agencies, including Amtrak, CSX, and Metro-North railroads, New York City Transit (NYCT) subway and buses, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, New York City Department of Environmental Protection, New York City Street Lighting, New York City Traffic Signals, NYCDOT Planning Department, NYCDOT, New York City Police Department and the New York City Fire Department.