Image Credit: NYC DOT
On June 18, 2025, the New York City Department of Transportation announced an expansion on the crackdown on overweight vehicles crossing the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. The agency is expanding its enforcement by issuing violations to overweight Staten Island-bound trucks.
The enforcement is part of the city’s ongoing efforts to prolong the life of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway by reducing the overall weight of vehicles crossing the expressway daily. The expressway features roadway weight sensors working in conjunction with cameras to issue violations for overweight trucks. The current maximum weight is 40 tons, or 80,000 pounds. The legislation that authorized the use of the weight-in-motion enforcement grants a 10 percent gross weight overage before a fine is issued.
The agency received the authority to use the sensors from the state in 2021, and the weight-in-motion enforcement launched for Queens-bound vehicles in 2023. In the first year of using the sensors, the number of overweight vehicles headed Queens-bound dropped 60 percent. Prior to the program, the agency found an average of over 7,900 overweight vehicles on the Queens-bound side of the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway monthly. The program is now set to expand to Staten Island-bound vehicles.
A 90-day warning period for the program expansion began in March. In the first 75 days of the warning period, over 3,000 warnings were issued. Automated enforcement began on June 22nd, and drivers in violation can receive a fine of $650.
In addition to the expansion for Staten Island-bound vehicles on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, the Department of Transportation has worked with the state to approve expanding the sensor program to other locations across New York State.
The locations owned by the NYC Department of Transportation that will get similar enforcement include BQE Route I-278 in Kings County (Atlantic to Sands); Greenpoint Avenue bridge over Newtown Creek; Metropolitan Avenue Bridge over Newtown Creek; Hamilton Avenue Bridge over the Gowanus Canal; Williamsburg Bridge; Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge (State Route 25); Third Avenue Bridge over the Harlem River; Manhattan Bridge; and the Long Island Expressway (Interstate Route 495) over Woodhaven Boulevard. Locations not owned by DOT within the city that will receive the weight-in-motion enforcement include the RFK Bridge and the George Washington Bridge. Locations outside New York City that will receive the enforcement include the Bear Mountain Bridge, the Newburgh Beacon Bridge, the Mid-Hudson Bridge, and the NYS Thruway Interchange 34-A near Syracuse.
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez stated, “Overweight trucks cause wear-and-tear on our roadways and we all pay the price through expensive repairs to our infrastructure. That is why we are expanding our role as a nationwide leader by cracking down on overweight vehicles on the BQE, now deploying state-of-the-art roadway weight sensors for Staten Island-bound traffic.”
By: Veronica Rose (Veronica is the Editor of CityLand and a New York Law School graduate, Class of 2018.)