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ThreeLittlePuigs t1_japomdh wrote

Reply to comment by ObjectivePitiful1170 in SHOCKER: Mayor's private BQE meeting could divide Brooklyn politicians by psychothumbs

Is it really less weight when cars are just parked on it basically all the time? I’m not physicist so have no clue, but I’m guessing the reduced lane makes up for the increased average duration of car there?

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doodle77 t1_jar1fqy wrote

Traffic moves slightly faster than before in the 2 lane section. The queue is before that section in both directions.

https://marcel.dejean.nyc/bqe/

Besides, the engineering assumption is that the entire highway will be loaded bumper-to-bumper with maximum weight minimum length trucks.

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Grass8989 t1_japqet8 wrote

I doubt it’s making a noticeable difference, like you said, 18 wheelers are just sitting in stop and go traffic on the cantilever section way more than they did when it was 3 lanes. Atleast they used to only be on it for a brief period of time (barring any accident of construction).

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ThreeLittlePuigs t1_japqu9o wrote

Yeah I literally have no clue. I feel like that’s an easy question for a structural engineer or likely someone better at high school physics than my dumb ass

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don-mage t1_jaqmcth wrote

Did they close the outer most lane? If so, weight on the farthest end of the cantilever will induce more moment and stress on the support.

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kwyjibo555 t1_jas4jag wrote

They technically closed it, but practically it's still a driving lane to countless cars that use it as a lane still because of 0 enforcement

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Grass8989 t1_japslze wrote

Indeed, not sure why they’re dragging their feet repairing it.

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b1argg t1_jargm0f wrote

The cantilever section itself moves pretty well because it's after the bottleneck caused by the reduction. The backups are before the cantilever.

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ZeePM t1_jare1kl wrote

It’s less weight on the outer most lane which reduces the stress on the support. The road acts like a lever in that section. Hold a stick out and hang a shopping bag with a can of soup in it. As you move the bag further out it gets heavier.

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elprophet t1_jarkibo wrote

I would say it gets "torqueir" rather than heavier, but either way lots more stress. Reducing that to two lanes with no other changes will extend the useful lifespan significantly. Going back to three lanes will kill people when it collapses.

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b1argg t1_jargfu1 wrote

The weight concern was specifically on the cantilever section which is crumbling and heading to collapse without major rehabilitation/reconstruction. The weight of the traffic backups on the other sections aren't an issue (or are much less of an issue)

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[deleted] t1_jardzyp wrote

[deleted]

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ThreeLittlePuigs t1_jarfhkg wrote

Oh boy, I’ve gotten some straightforward answers that have made me think this is pretty settled science. Are you telling me it’s more complex?

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