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New York is among the big cities around the country grappling with a crumbling problem: What to do with highways built more than a half-century ago? These cities face a stark choice — tear them down or replace them.

Detroit, Seattle, New Orleans, Baltimore and New York all feature highways built between the 1950s and 1970s, when traffic planners sought to make it easier for drivers to get from the suburbs to city centers.

But those structures weren’t designed to last forever, and they’re showing their age. None may be as pressing at the 0.4-mile section of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway known as the triple cantilever.

The section along the Brooklyn Heights waterfront was once considered an architectural marvel. Now, it’s being shored up with short-term fixes while the city figures out what to do next.

“Something has to be done, right? Doing nothing is not an option,” said Ian Coss, the creator of the “Big Dig” podcast about Boston’s notorious project to tear down an elevated highway downtown and build a new one underground.

WNYC’s The Greene Space is hosting a sold-out event with the podcast’s creators Tuesday night. You can sign up to watch the free livestream here.

The Big Dig took two decades to complete. It cost nearly $15 billion, making it the most expensive highway project in U.S. history. It became a cautionary tale for government officials seeking to do something ambitious with an old highway.

One of the directors on the Big Dig recalls later consulting for Seattle officials. The Seattle officials told him whatever he does, they didn’t want another Big Dig, according to Coss.

The BQE has the potential to match — or even eclipse — the Big Dig in transit lore.

Under Mayor Eric Adams, the city’s Department of Transportation presented 13 options for fixing the triple cantilever. His administration spent two years collecting feedback from the public, including ideas for a larger section of the highway, stretching from the Kosciuszko Bridge in Queens to the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Brooklyn.

“If we do not undertake a major replacement or rehabilitation project in the near future, we will need to undertake disruptive, large-scale and expensive annual repairs and face potential operational changes to the highway,” former Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez warned. Residents have heard that type of grave warning about the BQE since at least 2018.

Now there’s a new mayor in town. The DOT is currently deciding whether to move forward with an environmental review process based on proposals presented during the Adams administration, or pivot to a long-term rehabilitation plan.

“We will not kick the can down the road,” current Transportation Commissioner Mike Flynn said. “Major work must be undertaken by the end of this decade or truck traffic will need to be diverted onto local streets to reduce weight on the structure — and every step must be taken to avoid that outcome.”

NYC transportation news this week

Curious Commuter

Jezzebelle from the Bronx asks: When will the elevators at Yankee Stadium be opened again? They were supposed to be fixed last month.

Answer

The latest update from the MTA is that the five elevators currently out of service for replacement should be back up and running by the spring of this year, ideally by the time the Yankees play their home opener against the Miami Marlins on April 3. The station serves the B, D and 4 trains.

There are 14 different stations where the MTA is actively replacing or adding new elevators. It's required because of a class-action settlement that forces the transit agency to make an overwhelming majority of its subway stations ADA-compliant by 2050.