Continuing
past the Brooklyn College campus, the LIRR Bay Ridge Branch has a straight
run for a couple of miles. The ROW is fairly wide in this area, allowing
for a four-track configuration if the railroad was apt to build it.
The Nostrand
Avenue overpass. From this point on, highway construction challenges
will prove to be very interesting...
This
overpass serves Flatbush Avenue, and it also consists of a parking lot
that resides on top of the roof of the overpass. Here is what nycroads.com
has to say about this area of the Cross-Brooklyn Expressway project: "There
is a proposed municipal parking garage and playground between Nostrand
Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. The construction plans of the proposed
garage indicate that the south wall of the garage will be on the railroad
right-of-way, and that the playground deck will cover the right-of-way
from Nostrand Avenue to Flatbush Avenue. Just east of Flatbush Avenue,
there is an existing shopping center parking lot utilizing the air rights
over the LIRR right-of-way. The right-of-way at this point is 75 feet wide,
in line with the property line of six-story apartment buildings on the
north side, and the south side of the right-of-way is against the property
line of a 20 story apartment building. By careful positioning of
the line, the depressed expressway and relocated railroad with the combined
width of 121 feet would pass through this area without undercutting the
apartment buildings. The proposed municipal parking garage poses
a problem. Our alignment studies lead to the conclusion that the
south edge of the building as proposed would be undercut by the expressway.
The proposed construction would have to be altered to accommodate the expressway.
Property acquisition would have to be required on both sides of the railroad
in the area from Nostrand Avenue to Albany Avenue."
Underneath
the overpass that contains the parking lot. The parking lot uses
the air rights over the railroad.
The municipal parking garage and playground were never built above the
LIRR Bay Ridge Branch right-of-way. One has to wonder if the Cross-Brooklyn
Expressway plans helped to kill the garage and playground.
The
second-to-last overpass on the LIRR Bay Ridge branch is the Brooklyn Avenue
overpass. The line starts to curve in a northeasterly direction at
this point.
The
overpass for Albany Avenue. This is the last overpass on the LIRR
Bay Ridge Branch. After this point, the line runs along an elevated
right-of-way to Fresh Pond Yard.
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