NYC’s BQE & Boston’s ‘Big Dig’: Lessons for a Highway’s Future

Boston’s “Large Dig” and the Future of New York’s Crumbling Highways

In November 2021, New York City transportation officials removed a lane of traffic in each direction on a critical stretch of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE) near Brooklyn Heights, citing structural concerns. The move, a temporary fix, underscored the precarious state of the aging highway and intensified debate over its long-term future.

The BQE’s plight echoes a decades-traditional challenge faced by Boston, which embarked on the ambitious “Big Dig” project to replace its central elevated highway, the Central Artery, with an underground tunnel. Completed in 2007, the Big Dig—officially the Central Artery/Tunnel Project—was the most expensive highway project in U.S. History, ultimately costing billions of dollars. Although the project successfully removed the elevated highway and freed up valuable land, it likewise expanded roadway capacity, a decision that some experts now view as a critical mistake.

The Big Dig rerouted Interstate 93 into the O’Neill Tunnel and extended Interstate 90 to Logan International Airport via the Ted Williams Tunnel. The project also included the construction of the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge and the creation of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a 1.5-mile linear park built on the land formerly occupied by the elevated highway. According to Mass.gov, the project attracted $7 billion in investment and created 43,000 jobs in the South Boston Seaport area.

However, the expansion of the highway from six to eight lanes, coupled with the addition of a 10-lane bridge, ultimately exacerbated congestion. Despite the massive investment, traffic worsened citywide, turning Boston into one of the five most congested cities in the country, according to recent reports. This outcome aligns with decades of research demonstrating that increasing road capacity often leads to induced demand – the phenomenon where increased supply encourages increased utilize, ultimately negating the intended benefits of congestion relief.

New York City is now grappling with similar questions as it considers the future of the BQE. In 2020, the New York City Council published a report acknowledging the BQE’s critical role in the movement of people and goods, stating that it “cannot just be removed.” However, former-Mayor Eric Adams proposed rebuilding the existing triple cantilever structure and widening it by as much as 67 percent. This proposal has drawn criticism from urban planners and advocates who argue that simply rebuilding and expanding the highway would repeat the mistakes of the Big Dig.

Incoming Mayor Zohran Mamdani has signaled a potential shift in approach. A spokesperson told the New York Times in late 2025 that the new administration would “work to deliver a permanent solution…that preserves this essential transportation corridor.” This statement leaves room for a more comprehensive rethinking of the BQE’s future, potentially including a full-scale dismantling of the highway.

Advocates propose transforming the BQE corridor into a multi-modal transportation hub featuring tree-lined boulevards, new housing, light rail or bus rapid transit, protected bike lanes and dedicated lanes for micromobility and freight. The right-of-way could also accommodate modern freight rail, offering a sustainable alternative to trucks. Such a transformation could unlock significant economic benefits, freeing up land for development and reducing the costs associated with car ownership – the average American car owner spends roughly $12,000 per year on their vehicle, according to AAA.

Implementing this vision would require significant political and logistical hurdles. The city would necessitate to acquire the legal authority to decommission the BQE, working with the New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration to de-designate the city’s portion of Interstate 278. A comprehensive plan for freight movement would be essential, investing in alternatives to trucks such as step-downs to smaller vans outside the city, freight rail, and last-mile delivery via micromobility.

The governance structure of any BQE transformation project is also a critical consideration. The Big Dig, which took 25 years to plan and build, was plagued by a complex web of government agencies and industry stakeholders, contributing to cost overruns and delays. A Harvard Kennedy School report highlighted the project’s tangled layers of authority and a governance structure that delegated unaccountable power to a chairman and consortium of contractors. New York City must learn from these mistakes.

A successful approach would involve a tightly scoped, time-limited public planning process to establish clear, measurable performance benchmarks. Following this process, a smaller, expert-driven board should oversee the final planning and implementation, subject to regular public review against those benchmarks. This model aims to balance stakeholder engagement with efficient decision-making.

Cities have successfully removed highways before, including the West Side Highway in New York City. The question now is whether New York possesses the political will to develop bold choices that reshape the city for the benefit of current and future generations. The future of the BQE, and the lessons learned from Boston’s Big Dig, remain under consideration by Mayor Mamdani and Governor Hochul.