Archives for February 2014

February New NY Bridge Newsletter

February 28, 2014 by
newsletter

The New York State Thruway Authority and the New NY Bridge team are proud to present the February issue of the New NY Bridge Newsletter, a monthly publication designed to keep everyone abreast of the latest news about the project.

 In this issue:

American Made: New York Businesses Benefit From New NY Bridge Project

High Steel Structures, LLC: A Brief Look at One of The Nation’s Pre-Eminent Steel Producer

Reaching the Next Generation: New NY Bridge Project Presents for Science Week

Safety: Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

Please enjoy the February New NY Bridge Newsletter.

 

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , ,

TZ Task Force Nears Final Meeting

February 26, 2014 by

Top Photo

For the past year, the Tappan Zee Bridge Mass Transit Task Force has been
developing recommendations for services on the new bridge.
Times Herald-Record
Published: 2:00 AM – 02/26/14

TARRYTOWN — The Tappan Zee Bridge Mass Transit Task Force will hold its final meeting Friday and release the short-, mid- and long-term recommendations that its 31 members have developed over the past year.

The recommendations, contained in a 26-page executive summary, offer no surprises and no guarantees that any of them will ever be implemented. The summary will be followed next month with a report that details the actions that Rockland and Westchester counties could take to advance the short-term recommendations for new express bus routes as well as estimates of potential costs.

The task force has never identified a source of funding for transit improvements, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s staff has forcefully steered members away from any suggestions with hefty price tags on the grounds that it can’t afford a new bus rapid transit or commuter rail system and a new $3.9 billion bridge.

Recommendations

The Tappan Zee Bridge Mass Transit Task Force will formally present the recommendations that have been developed over the past year Friday. They include:

Short-term (between now and the new bridge’s completion in 2018)

• Modify existing bus service in Rockland and Westchester to create seven express routes between Suffern and Nanuet and Tarrytown, White Plains and Yonkers, and between White Plains and Tarrytown, Port Chester, Valhalla and The Bronx.

• Install technology that manages traffic flow through ramp metering, signal prioritization and queue jumping, as well as a bus-only lane on the new bridge, to improve travel times.

• Use specially designed buses to differentiate the new service from existing services, and adopt a common fare structure.

• Advance studies of a transit hub in White Plains, reconstruction of the Thruway’s Interchange 10 in South Nyack and construction of a new Thruway interchange at Route 59 in Monsey. Mid-term (up to 15 years after the new bridge’s completion)

• Create a White Plains transit hub around the train station.

• Reconstruct Interchange 11.

• Construct a bus station in the Thruway median and a pedestrian bridge from the Palisades Center.

• Make improvements to Rockland train service on the Pascack Valley and Port Jervis lines. Long-term (more than 15 years after the new bridge’s completion)

• Pursue revival of passenger rail service on the now freight-only West Shore line in Rockland.

• Consider development of Rockland-to-Westchester commuter rail or light rail.

“We’re not getting a 21st century bridge if we’re not getting mass transit,” said Nancy Proyect, president of the Orange County Citizens Foundation. “We’re not really doing BRT; we’re doing express buses. It’s not a 21st century solution for a 21st century bridge or a 21st century state.”

Proyect, who has advocated for new transit services in the Tappan Zee corridor over the past decade and attended many of the task force’s meetings, predicted the state and the region will come to regret this failure to fund significant improvements in conjunction with the new bridge’s construction.

Before Gov. Cuomo took office and fast-tracked the TZB’s replacement, the state had been pursuing a true BRT system with dedicated travel lanes and stations across the two counties that buses from Orange County could have used. But Cuomo eliminated transit elements from the project, citing high costs and ample opportunity for adding services in the future to what would be a “transit-ready” bridge.

Rockland and Westchester counties then forced Cuomo to form the task force to keep the prospect of transit improvements alive in exchange for their support of the new bridge.

The meeting will be held at 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Tarrytown Senior Center at 240 W. Main St., on the village’s waterfront.

judyrife@gmail.com

 http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140226/BIZ/402260341/-1/NEWSLETTER100

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , ,

CREWS MOBILIZE FOLLOWING WINTER WEATHER SHUTDOWN; PILE DRIVING RESUMES ON NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT

February 21, 2014 by

new

Project Update

For immediate release: February 21, 2014

Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) resumed marine operations and pile driving this week as icy conditions cleared in the Hudson River and crews could safely go back to work. Pile driving operations will continue next week and a second shift of workers will be onsite to resume welding on the piles that will become the permanent foundation for the New NY Bridge.

Pile driving will take place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, and occasionally between noon and 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

Beginning the week of Feb. 24, crews will conduct nighttime geotechnical investigations on the Westchester approach to the existing bridge, in the vicinity of the toll plaza. Lane closures to support these operations will be in place from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., as needed, to minimize disruptions to traffic. This geotechnical investigation will confirm the soil conditions and ultimately allow the team to further streamline the design of the Westchester landings.

Lane Closures for New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287):

Monday Feb. 24 Southbound, Right Lane Near Toll Plaza 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Tuesday Feb. 25 Southbound, Right Lane Near Toll Plaza 8  p.m. to 5 a.m.
Wednesday Feb. 26 Southbound, Right Lane Near Toll Plaza 8  p.m. to 5 a.m.
Thursday Feb. 27 Northbound, Right Lane Near Toll Plaza 8  p.m. to 5 a.m.
Friday Feb. 28 Northbound, Right Lane Near Toll Plaza 8  p.m. to 5 a.m.

Mariners should be aware that TZC will continue installing permanent piles in the vicinity of the side channels under the existing bridge, weather permitting. New temporary navigational lights have been installed to further define the 600-foot navigation channel under the main span. Both temporary and permanent piles are illuminated at night.

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a revised Notice to Mariners with updated safety information, including the establishment of a Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) – 300 yards north and 200 yards south of the existing Tappan Zee Bridge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a modified permit for additional temporary mooring locations during construction of the new bridge. All boaters are advised to use the main channel, reduce wake and use extreme caution while transiting the area. If necessary, the Coast Guard may temporarily prohibit all vessel traffic in the RNA for safety purposes. The Coast Guard boating safety information and the modified mooring permit map can be found on the project website at NewNYBridge.com under the “Boater Safety” icon.

Ongoing Operations:
• Permanent pile installation, including pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, and occasionally between noon and 7 p.m. on Saturdays
• Rockland access ramp modifications
• River Road utility work
• Test pile program
• Permanent pile installation
• Temporary Rockland trestle construction, including pile driving on weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Survey inspections on existing bridge
• Support for river-based work from the Rockland shoreline
• Reinforcement steel pre-assembly at bridge yard
Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

WORK PROGRESSES ON RELOCATION OF NEW YORK STATE POLICE AND THRUWAY AUTHORITY TEMPORARY OPERATIONS FACILITIES

February 8, 2014 by

 

 

                                              update

For immediate release: February 7, 2014

Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) will ramp-up facility and site improvements in preparation for the temporary relocation of the New York State Police and New York State Thruway Authority maintenance facilities.

The State Police and Thruway Authority operations will relocate from their current locations on South Broadway in Tarrytown, and Dockside off of River Road in South Nyack, respectively, to the old Journal News building, located off of exit 12 on Route 303 in Clarkstown. TZC is in the process of improving the building and surrounding site in anticipation of temporarily moving the operations early this summer.

Plans for a permanent replacement facility in Tarrytown for both the State Police and the Thruway Authority are currently being designed.The existing facilities need to be removed to make way for construction of the New NY Bridge.

Severe winter weather and icy conditions necessitate suspension of TZC’s marine operations. Work will resume on the river once temperatures rise and icy conditions allow for safe operations. During the suspension, TZC will maintain a safety crew that will monitor the weather’s impact on the site, reassessing conditions daily. Operations continue on both shore lines and include the creation of the hundreds of steel pipe piles and steel reinforcement materials for the bridge’s foundations.
Lane Closures for New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287):

Monday Feb. 10 Northbound, Right Lane Near Exit 10 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday Feb. 11 Southbound, Right Lane Near Exit 10 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday Feb. 12 Southbound, Right Lane Near Exit 10 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday Feb. 13 Northbound, Right Lane Near Exit 10 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Friday Feb. 14 Northbound, Right Lane Near Exit 10 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Mariners should be aware that TZC will continue installing permanent piles in the vicinity of the side channels under the existing bridge, weather permitting. Pile driving will take place between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, and occasionally between noon and 7 p.m. on Saturdays. Additional temporary navigational lights have been installed to further define the 600-foot navigation channel under the main span. Both temporary and permanent piles are illuminated at night.

The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a revised Notice to Mariners with updated safety information, including the establishment of a Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) — 300 yards north and 200 yards south of the existing Tappan Zee Bridge. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a modified permit for additional temporary mooring locations during construction of the new bridge. All boaters are advised to use the main channel, reduce wake and use extreme caution while transiting the area. If necessary, the Coast Guard may temporarily prohibit all vessel traffic in the RNA for safety purposes. The Coast Guard boating safety information and the modified mooring permit map can be found on the project website at NewNYBridge.com under the “Boater Safety” icon.

Ongoing Operations (weather permitting):

• Rockland access ramp modifications
• Armoring of dredge channel
• River Road utility work
• Test pile program
• Permanent pile installation
• Temporary Rockland trestle construction, including pile driving on weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Survey inspections on existing bridge
• Support for river-based work from the Rockland shoreline
• Reinforcement steel pre-assembly at bridge yard

 

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Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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