The NY State Dept. of Transportation will begin the scoping process for its project to rebuild the interchange between the Bronx’ Sheridan and Bruckner Expressways in March.

Although no formal notice has been received by the public, DOT consultants say that scoping meetings are scheduled for March 18 and 20, in Hunts Point and at the Bronx Borough President’s office on 161st Street, respectively. There is usually a 60-day period for public comment once a scoping process begins. The process is to provide input about what a project’s environmental impact statement should consider.

The DOT’s concept for the Bruckner-Sheridan connection is to upgrade the interchange ramps to provide smoother and safer traffic flow, and to provide better access for trucks from the Sheridan into the Hunts Point district, which features New York City’s primary wholesale food market. However, the new complex of ramps the DOT envisions will further cut Hunts Point off from the rest of the Bronx.

Moreover, the Sheridan is essentially a minor connector road between the Cross-Bronx and Bruckner Expressways, which intersect at two other points, and are also linked by the Bronx River Parkway. The Sheridan — just a mile and a quarter long — sees very little overall traffic volume by NYC standards.

For several years, transportation watchdogs and South Bronx community activists have asked the DOT to consider removing the Sheridan from the highway network, instead of investing over $400 million to upgrade its interchanges. Eliminating the road would free up land along the Bronx River for parkland and/or economic development. It would also smooth traffic along the Cross-Bronx and Bruckner by eliminating complicated, congestion-causing interchanges. The groups favoring the Sheridan’s demise also favor construction of a new interchange along the Bruckner (at Leggett Avenue), to facilitate truck access between the highway and the Hunts Point market. That route would have a smaller impact on Hunts Point residential and small business environments than the Sheridan route proposed by NY State DOT.

The groups, which include Sustainable South Bronx, Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, the Pratt Institute and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, have asked the DOT to develop an EIS alternative that encompasses the Leggett entrance/exit and the elimination of the Sheridan Expressway.

DOT has not responded in a clear manner, and plainly does not want to do this. The advocates plan to be very active during the scoping process to ensure that their point of view is fully considered as formal options for the project are defined.

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