The Brooklyn Bridge–Montgomery Coastal Resilience (BMCR) project is a critical segment of New York City’s broader Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency (LMCR) program, designed to reduce flood risk from storm surge and sea level rise while preserving access, mobility, and neighborhood connectivity along the East River waterfront.
A defining feature of the BMCR project is its innovative flood protection strategy along extended, highly constrained urban corridors. FloodBreak® Automatic Floodgates are integrated into this landmark project to provide continuous, high-performance flood protection across long linear alignments without the need for permanent walls, vertical posts, or visual obstructions.
Unlike conventional deployable barriers that rely on fixed structural supports, FloodBreak Automatic Floodgates are engineered to operate as independent, load-bearing units. When deployed, each gate seals edge-to-edge with adjacent gates, collectively forming a continuous flood barrier reaching heights of up to approximately 13 feet. This approach allows hundreds of linear feet of protection to be achieved without interrupting pedestrian flow, sightlines, or streetscape functionality under normal conditions.
On sunny days, the gates remain fully concealed below grade, enabling sidewalks, streets, and public spaces to function as intended on a daily basis. Importantly, they maximize integration of public space amenities such as open-air seating, fitness equipment, and athletic courts.
During a flood event, the system will be deployed automatically, creating a robust flood defense that integrates seamlessly with the surrounding resiliency infrastructure.
The use of FloodBreak Automatic Floodgates within the BMCR project supports the City’s goals of delivering resilient infrastructure that is both technically robust and context-sensitive—providing reliable flood protection while minimizing permanent visual and physical impacts on dense urban environments.
Read more about the project in Engineering News-Record (ENR).
