Queens Infrastructure Is in Bad Shape

According to a report [PDF] by the Center for an Urban Future, Queens infrastructure needs major improvements: the borough has five of the nine worst maintained highways in the city. Queens Courier went through the report and found that highway conditions in the borough have been deteriorating — 52 percent of highways are in “fair” or “poor” condition, that number was at 38 percent in 2008. As for the rest of the streets in Queens, 30 percent are in “fair” or “poor” condition. NYCHA developments in the borough have the most deteriorated building façades and roofs — four of Queens’ NYCHA complexes will need over $70 million in facade repairs through 2016. JFK Airport also needs upgrading, with facilities averaging around 40 years old.

The rest of the city isn’t doing so well, either: the report estimated that New York needs a total of $47 billion over the next four to five years to bring its infrastructure into decent shape. As the Courier says, “The aging infrastructure includes 1,000 miles of water mains more than 100 years old; more than 160 bridges across the five boroughs that were built over a century ago; and 6,300 miles of gas mains that are on average, 56 years old.”

Queens Highways, Other City Infrastructure ‘Badly’ in Need of Repair: Report [Queens Courier]

Photo via Wikimedia Commons