New York City Parks and the NYC Department of Design and Construction broke ground yesterday on a $41m project to renovate Tide Gate Bridge in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in the borough of Queens.
The bridge, also known as Porpoise Bridge, was built in 1938 for the 1939 World’s Fair with sluice gates to control Flushing Creek tides that were encroaching on the park.
The existing bridge is 36 feet wide and 370 feet long and carries Meridian Road over the creek.
The project will replace the bridge’s deck with one some 4.5 feet wider.
The flood control system will be replaced with automated stainless-steel tide and sluice gates and a new hydraulic control system.
The control house for the new gate system will be relocated to an elevated platform near the adjacent LIRR tracks.
The project will also add wetlands at the northwest abutments of the bridge along the shoreline of the creek, which will be planted with smooth cordgrass.
Nearby areas will be restored and planted with a native seed mix along with upland species such as switch grass and showy goldenrod.
Work is scheduled to finish in summer 2027.
“This renovation of Porpoise Bridge will be a welcome addition to Flushing Meadows Corona Park, which is already the crown jewel of our borough’s park system,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.
