Quick snapshot
Neighbors, activists and some elected officials are mounting a lively campaign to stop a proposed mile-long service road that would arch over the Bronx River and Starlight Park. The road is part of a big-dollar plan to repair several aging bridges along the Cross-Bronx Expressway — but residents say the cure might be worse than the disease.
What the plan would do
The state Department of Transportation has been weighing options to shore up five old bridges and fix structural problems from decades ago. One of the ideas: build a temporary-seeming diversion road that would sit above the river and park so crews can work faster on the main highway. The pitch is that this could speed up construction by a couple of years and get repairs done sooner.
Why people are mad
Local activists argue the new elevated roadway would permanently damage the neighborhood’s air quality, shade out mature trees, and add more traffic angst to an area that already struggles with high asthma rates among kids. In short: it’s not just construction noise and dust — folks worry about long-term health and fewer green lungs for the neighborhood.
Who’s speaking up
Community organizers have been holding rallies and talking to their neighbors, and several city and federal elected officials have publicly urged the DOT to explore alternatives. The chorus against the elevated option includes local council and state lawmakers as well as members of Congress, all pushing for solutions that don’t sacrifice parkland or riverside trees.
What the DOT says
The transportation agency stresses that the bridges do need work for safety reasons and that the overall project is not intended to expand the Cross-Bronx Expressway. After community feedback, the DOT removed a couple of options that would have left the diversion road open to cars permanently — but it hasn’t fully abandoned the idea of building a temporary structure that could later be repurposed for walking and biking.
Alternatives folks want
Locals and environmental groups aren’t anti-repair — they want the fixes done inside the current footprint, or with greener options from the neighborhood-led Reimagine the Cross Bronx proposals. Ideas range from smarter staging and traffic management to ambitious plans like capping sections of highway and creating park space above. The common theme: fix the infrastructure without gutting the park and river corridor.
Trust issues and tree grief
Some residents are skeptical that a temporary diversion would ever become the pretty bike-and-walk path the DOT promises. Environmental groups point out that the construction would remove mature tree canopy in Starlight Park, and once trees are gone and pollution goes up, it’s not easy to rewind that change.
Timeline and next steps
The DOT plans an environmental review and expects to publish a draft assessment for public comment this fall; construction is currently slated to begin in 2026 if plans move forward. That review will be the next big battleground for community input and potential revisions.
The bottom line
People here are not saying “no repairs.” They’re saying: do the repairs without turning the river and park into a concrete detour. The fight is about balancing safety and timelines with long-term health, trees, and neighborhood quality of life — and judging by recent rallies and official letters, the community isn’t going quietly into the construction zone.
