A popular environmental advocacy group is concerned about debris entering the Bronx River when a major construction project begins in the area next year.
The Bronx River Alliance demanded on Thursday that the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), which is eyeing a plan to rehab or replace five bridges along the Cross Bronx Expressway, keep the nearby Bronx River clean by not dumping materials in the local waters when construction begins.
According to the Alliance, the concerns stem from a similar project when the organization said NYSDOT used the river as an “illegal dumping site” to make a new entrance ramp to the Cross Bronx in 2022.
Now, the Alliance said residents fear more dumping will occur when the Cross Bronx Road work begins.
“For decades, Bronx residents have poured our time, energy, and care into cleaning up the Bronx River,” Siddhartha Sánchez, executive director of the Bronx River Alliance, said. “The Bronx River is a living, sensitive ecosystem that serves thousands of our neighbors every week yet as recently as 2022 the state illegally treated it as an industrial dumping ground. We refuse to let officials treat our river like a landfill.
Sánchez said local remediation efforts have helped clean up the river in recent years, resulting in a thriving ecosystem bouncing back to the habitat. Animal life has slowly returned to the river, he said, including birds and dolphins.
“We refuse to let officials treat our river like a landfill,” Sánchez said. “As state DOT advances plans to rehabilitate the Cross Bronx, it must commit to proper waste management and guarantee that no construction debris, stormwater runoff, or other refuse will pollute the river during and after construction.”
A spokesperson for NYSDOT told amNewYork that the agency is committed to good environmental practices and described various ways the area will stay protected during the work.
“NYSDOT is committed to being a good steward of the environment and would implement strong measures to protect the Bronx River during construction, including turbidity curtains, protective nettings, temporary cofferdams and work platforms, and catch basin sediment traps,” the spokesperson said.
State officials said that five bridges on the expressway–also known as Interstate 95—need to be overhauled or replaced to bring the structures up to modern standards and improve safety and traffic flow.
“Several options are being considered to accommodate existing expressway traffic during construction and improve bike and pedestrian connectivity,” the agency spokesperson said. “Each option is being evaluated based on several factors, such as the length of construction and potential social, economic, and environmental effects, including beneficial effects.”
With daily traffic reaching 150,000 vehicles in certain locations, the Cross Bronx is one of the most heavily traveled roads in the metro area, carrying commuters, commercial vehicles and recreational traffic through the South Bronx.
