FLOATING BATCH PLANTS RETURN TO WORK ON THE NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT
Triple-Lane Closure on Northbound New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) During Overnight of Wednesday, Mar. 25
Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC’s (TZC) two floating concrete batch plants recently returned to the work site, passed the required testing and soon will begin pumping concrete. The batch plants were taken out of service in December after a silo failed.
The concrete plants move from location to location on the river, providing high-quality concrete where it is needed to build the New NY Bridge project. Their resumption of service will reduce the number of concrete trucks using local roads.
The following lane and exit closures are planned for next week:
Three left lanes of the northbound Thruway (I-87/I-287) will be closed from exit 9 (Tarrytown Sleepy Hollow NY Route 9) to exit 10 (Nyack South Nyack Route 9W), and including the Tappan Zee Bridge, from 9 p.m., Wednesday, Mar. 25 to 4:30 a.m., Thursday, Mar. 26. One lane will remain open during the closure. The closures are necessary to accommodate road-striping work.
Additionally, road striping will require the closure of the two left (35 mph) E-ZPass lanes at the southbound Thruway toll plaza in Tarrytown from 10 p.m. Friday, Mar. 27 to 5 a.m., Saturday, Mar. 28. The work also will necessitate the closure of the southbound exit 9 off-ramp to Route 9 from 10 p.m., Friday, Mar. 28 to 5 a.m., Saturday, Mar. 28. Traffic that would otherwise use exit 9 will be detoured to exit 8A, as shown below:
Turn-by-turn directions for southbound exit 9 closure detour:
- Exit onto the exit 8A off-ramp;
- At the end of the long ramp, turn right on westbound Route 119/White Plains Road;
- Enter westbound I-287, which merges with northbound I-87;
- Exit onto the exit 9 off-ramp;
- Turn left onto westbound Route 119/White Plains Road; and
- Turn left or right on Route 9, depending on your destination.
Preparations for the Temporary All Electronic Toll Collection system in South Nyack near exit 10 will require a single right-lane closure from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Monday, March 23 and Tuesday, March 24.
Marine operations continue to gear up following the winter shutdown, with crews installing reinforcing steel (rebar) in the main span pile caps and the precast approach span pile caps.
With only a small percentage of piles left to install, pile driving operations will continue next week. The periodic pile driving is restricted to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and noon to 7 p.m., Saturday.
Crews also will continue working on the bridge’s landings at the Rockland and Westchester shorelines. The abutments, comprised of steel and concrete, will serve as strong bases where the new crossing meets the landside roadway.
TZC will continue limited concrete placement for foundations near the South Nyack shoreline. The concrete for this work is being acquired from local concrete suppliers and delivered by truck to the Rockland trestle located off the New York State Thruway’s (I-87/I-287) southbound access ramp. Trucks exit the trestle to the Thruway via the northbound access ramp. The access ramps are used only by construction vehicles, providing a safe route directly to the work site and reducing traffic impacts on local roads.
Additional work includes:
- Pile cap foundation construction
- Main span foundation construction
- Landing abutment concrete work
- River Road utility work
- Support for river-based work from the Rockland trestle
- Survey inspections on the existing bridge
Boater Safety
The U.S. Coast Guard has established a Safety Zone surrounding 16 construction barge mooring locations at the project site. No unauthorized vessels are allowed in the Safety Zone. In addition, marine law enforcement will be enforcing the rules of the expanded Regulated Navigation Areas (RNAs) east and west of the Safety Zone. The RNAs stretch 500 yards north and 500 yards south of the existing bridge. Boaters are urged to transit the main channel with no wake at a maximum speed of 5 knots, and to use extreme caution on the river at all times.
More New NY Bridge boater safety information, including the U.S. Coast Guard Notice to Mariners and construction site maps, can be found here at NewNYBridge.com. An interactive map showing vessel locations on the Hudson River is also available here for recreational and commercial boaters to get updated information on this very active construction zone. The GPS tracking map is for informational purposes and not intended for navigation.
Mariners also should be aware that TZC will continue work in the vicinity of the side channels under the existing bridge. Additional temporary navigational lights have been installed to further define the 600-foot navigation channel under the main span. Permanent elements of the new bridge are lit per U.S. Coast Guard requirements, as are all moorings, barges and other equipment.
All lane closures are subject to change due to traffic, weather or emergency situations. Please visit http://www.thruway.ny.gov/travelers/map/index.html?layer=incidents for real-time information regarding traffic conditions.