Copyright Staten Island Advance
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Several projects along the same 2.7-mile stretch of Arthur Kill Road in Charleston could bring a host of new traffic to the two-way single-lane street. The Advance/SILive.com recently identified four massive projects along Arthur Kill Road, each within miles of each other and in different phases of completion. If development progresses according to plan, Arthur Kill Road could soon be home to two major warehouses, a Department of Transportation construction management site and a 16-acre truck freight facility. Two of these projects alone would bring over 468,000 square feet and nearly 90 loading bays dedicated to warehouse and distribution operations. The others would also bring an increase in truck traffic to a road already choked by industry such as car storage, repair shops, towing companies, and salvage yards, among others. “Arthur Kill Road is becoming a poster child for overdevelopment,” Councilmember Frank Morano, a Republican who represents the South Shore, previously told the Advance/SILive.com. “There is no real thought on infrastructure and a total lack of planning.” Current challenges Video recently presented to Staten Island’s Community Board 3, and later provided to the Advance/SILive.com, attempts to show the current level of truck traffic and heavy industry that already lines Arthur Kill Road. In the opening shot of the video, which the Advance/SILive.com edited for time, an overhead shot from a drone shows some of the existing development near Arthur Kill Road and Winant Place. The video then shows a tractor-trailer attempting to follow a winding curve in Arthur Kill Road, near Androvette Street, in front of where the truck freight facility would be built. While navigating the curve, the truck is seen driving down the center of the narrow road, effectively occupying both travel lanes. Other parts of the video show the current level of truck traffic along Arthur Kill Road, specifically near Winant Place. In the clip, moving trucks and car haulers can be seen lining the narrow stretch of road, leaving local traffic to navigate down the center of the street to proceed. The driver recording the footage has to move well into the center of the street to avoid the trucks stopped along the shoulder of the road. The latest details The first project, which is still under construction, will be located at 1 Nassau Place in Richmond Valley. It would bring 331,700 square feet of warehouse space, 60 loading docks and two drive-in doors just south of the Outerbridge Crossing. Another, which opened in September at 2807 Arthur Kill Rd., features 136,346 square feet of storage space and 29 loading docks along an already busy industrial corridor. Right across the street from this project, the Department of Transportation is working to acquire approximately five acres of land to support its Sidewalk Inspections Management construction crews. This development would devote 81,000 square feet for storage space, which will house vehicles, trucks, equipment and materials. Finally, a 16-acre parcel of land near Arthur Kill Road and Androvette Street in Charleston would be converted to a truck terminal to accommodate 184 tractor-trailers. (Editor’s note: This story is part of series investigating the rapid industrial development of Arthur Kill Road. Do you live, work or operate a business near one of these facilities? Contact Jessica Jones-Gorman at jgorman@siadvance.com to voice your concerns or discuss community impact.)
