The $74.8 million project to improve access on the Staten Island Expressway on a 1.9-mile section between Lily Pond Road and Clove Road has broken ground.

Image courtesy of Federal Highway Administration

The $74.8 million Staten Island Expressway Recovery project will improve a 1.9-mile section by widening overpasses and adding lanes and is expected to be completed by summer 2012.

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The project which includes the addition of lanes and ramps, the widening of overpasses and the realigning and leveling of the highway’s steepest curves in order to help with its infamous traffic received the largest amount of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act highway dollars in New York State with $39.5 million. Work on the project also includes the extension of bus lanes and the dismantling of unused overpasses.

“Residents and commuters will spend less time stuck in traffic and get where they need to go more quickly,” said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez who joined state and local officials at the groundbreaking ceremony. “This investment from the Recovery Act will reduce congestion and the new jobs will help stimulate the city’s economy.”

Work on the Staten Island Expressway Recovery Project is being performed by The Laquila Group of Brooklyn, New York with completion expected in summer 2012.