AECOM/Dewberry, in joint venture
This project is a major infrastructure improvement within an underserved community. After years of grass-roots advocacy, New York State agreed to de-designate the 1.3 mile-long Bruckner-Sheridan Expressway as an interstate and replace it with a tree-lined, multi-modal boulevard. The $1.8 billion improvements tie several South Bronx neighborhoods together and give visitors and residents alike a direct connection to the Bronx River waterfront and a large park. Three new pedestrian crossings provide safe crossings to the Bronx River and the Bronx River Greenway The project also reduces truck traffic on local roads by providing direct access via a new ramp to the Hunts Point food distribution center thereby improving air quality within the neighborhood.
MNLA is the landscape architect responsible for the landscaped median, planted bikeway buffer and tree-lined sidewalks as well as for a new entry plaza and river overlook in Starlight Park. Innovative planting design focused on native, low-water species and arrayed them in large masses to facilitate maintenance. Trees are planted in mixed-specie groups rather than rows to introduce an aesthetic that is sympathetic to the natural shoreline landscape within the park.