Archives for August 2014

T.Z. Bridge: State cops move to Rockland from Tarrytown

August 12, 2014 by Rand Commercial

LoHud august 8, 2014 Theresa Juva-Brown, tjuva@lohud.com

If you’re looking for the state police station in Tarrytown, be prepared to drive across the Tappan Zee Bridge to Rockland.

Troopers have moved to 160 N. Route 303 in West Nyack, where they will share a 42,000-square-foot building with 28 Thruway Authority employees for the next four years. It also is housing the headquarters of Zone 1, which includes three state police barracks in the region.

The Thruway and state police leave behind an 18,000-square-foot building on Route 9 that will be torn down in the next year to make way for Tappan Zee Bridge construction activities.

“We were over there for 50-plus years in that barracks,” said state police Capt. Richard Mazzone, commander of Zone 1. “The move — when you’ve been in the building that long — is certainly a little difficult, but we certainly planned it well, and we’ve made the move rather seamless.”

Though the Tarrytown station is now in Rockland, it has retained its Westchester identity.

“We are referring to it as the Tarrytown barracks,” Mazzone said. “This is a temporary facility.”

In 2018 after the new Tappan Zee Bridge is completed, state police and the Thruway Authority will move back to Tarrytown to separate locations that have yet to be built.

For the past month, troopers have been settling into the transformed warehouse, the former Journal News printing plant. The new building has its perks — a lot more space — but also drawbacks — a lack of windows and natural light.

Mazzone said he doesn’t know of any problems with people finding the new location, which is a couple miles from the Tappan Zee, unlike the old barracks.

“As far as the 100 miles of roadway in Zone 1, the bridge is one of the most critical pieces of roadway,” he said. “It’s definitely going to be nicer when we get back in the new facility, where I can look out the window and actually see the bridge.”

That will be especially important because the new 3-mile crossing will have a path for cyclists and pedestrians.

“We’re certainly anticipating some additional responsibilities with the shared-use path,” Mazzone said.

http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/tappan-zee-bridge/2014/08/08/tappan-zee-cops-move-rockland-keep-westchester-name/13795079/

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: Build a new Tappan Zee Bridge, construction, hudson valley, new york state thruway, NYS Thruway, NYS Troopers, rockland county, State Police, tarrytown ny, westchester county

PROJECT UPDATE FOR BOATERS

August 12, 2014 by Rand Commercial

NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT ESTABLISHES SAFE CHANNEL FOR PIERMONT BOATERS

Following collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the New NY Bridge project team has installed channel markers near Piermont to help guide recreational boaters to and from the Hudson River Main Channel.

Soil borings will begin in South Nyack near the intersection of S. Broadway and Cornelison Ave. during the week of August 11 to inform preliminary design options. The samples of material will be taken in different areas to help designers understand subsurface conditions that may be experienced during construction. Some survey activities are also being performed to support these design investigations. These operations require temporary lane closures and traffic control measures including flaggers to maintain safety and movement of local traffic.

Construction will continue in the Hudson River as crews place the foundation for the New NY Bridge. Work will include pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

A second shift of workers will also continue pile welding, pile cleanout and concrete placement operations associated with permanent foundations.

Sheet pile driving at locations on land and near the Rockland landing is temporarily on hold due to high noise levels from the operation. Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) continues to implement additional noise-reducing measures at sheet pile driving operations at the Rockland Landing and in the river at one of the closest piers to the shoreline. Sheet pile driving operations will continue as soon as noise is at an allowable level.

Work will continue on the Rockland work trestle near the shoreline, including pile driving. The trestle will support equipment used for the construction of the western-most section of the new bridge.

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 five 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 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.

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

Monday	Aug 11	Northbound, Left Lane near Exit 9	10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday	Aug 11	Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge	9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Tuesday	Aug 12	Southbound, Left Lane approaching the Toll Plaza and Left hand EZ-Pass Lanes.	10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tuesday	Aug 12	Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge	9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Wednesday	Aug 13	Northbound, Left Lane near Exit 9	10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Wednesday	Aug 13	Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge	9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Thursday	Aug 14	Southbound, Right Lane near Exit 9	10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Thursday	Aug 14	Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge	9 p.m. to 5 a.m.
Friday	Aug 15	Southbound, Right Lane near exit 9	10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Friday	Aug 15	Northbound, Right Lane approaching the Tappan Zee Bridge	9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Ongoing Operations:

Permanent pile installation, including pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, and between noon and 7 p.m. on Saturdays
Pile Cap foundation construction
Main Span foundation construction
Rockland Landing construction
Westchester Landing construction
River Road utility work
Rockland trestle construction, including pile driving
Survey inspections on existing bridge

Support for river-based work from the Rockland trestle

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: construction, HUDSON RIVER, hudson valley, ny, NYS Thruway, PIERMONT, rand commercial services, rockland county, Tappan Zee Bridge, tappanzeebridgeinfo.com

Building the Backbone of the New NY Bridge

August 11, 2014 by Rand Commercial

Main Span Bases Rise out of the Hudson

August 7, 2014 | New NY Bridge Team

Two enormous structures with bases the size of football fields are rising out of the Hudson River at the New NY Bridge project site. These concrete monoliths are the pile caps that will act as the structural backbone for New York’s largest bridge and highway infrastructure project, distributing the weight of the bridge onto dozens of steel foundation piles.

The main span pile caps will support the bridge’s 400-foot towers, and require months of preparation to complete.

To construct these main span pile caps, steel pilings are first driven deep into the riverbed, reaching bedrock hundreds of feet below the surface. Once all the piles are in place, a series of concrete floor panels is pieced together around them, outlining the footprint of the pile cap as the supporting base for its concrete pour. The team then positions heavy steel panels precisely around the edge of this footprint to form a massive tub, which is sealed to be watertight and carefully lowered into the river to bring its base to the proper final level for the concrete pile cap.

Next, workers build the pile cap’s reinforcement system inside this lowered tub. The team installs high-strength steel reinforcement bars, called rebar, to closely-engineered dimensions within the form.

The project’s floating batch plantsare then moved adjacent to the pile cap, and each form is filled with concrete specially formulated for long-term durability. The process continues over many hours until the entire footprint is covered with concrete to the specified depth. Once this steel-reinforced concrete hardens, the backbone of the new structure will have taken shape.

Learn more about how steel piles are transported to the project site, or installed with the well-being of local wildlife in mind.

Read complete Monthly Newsletter here:

http://www.newnybridgegallery.com/updates/august-2014-new-ny-bridge-monthly-newsletter/

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: Build a new Tappan Zee Bridge, hudson valley, new york state thruway, project update, Tappan Zee Bridge, tappan zee contractors, The New Tappan Zee Bridge

CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES ON THE NEW NY BRIDGE

August 2, 2014 by Rand Commercial

Nighttime and overnight electrical work on the Tarrytown approach to the Tappan Zee Bridge will continue the week of August 4. The I-87 northbound/I-287 westbound right lane will be closed Monday, August 4 through Friday, August 8 from 9 p.m. each evening to 5 a.m. the following morning. The Thruway will remain open to traffic during these operations.

Construction will continue in the Hudson River as crews install foundations for the New NY Bridge. Work will include pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday.

A second shift of workers will also continue pile welding, pile cleanout and concrete placement operations associated with permanent foundations.

Sheet pile driving at locations on land and near the Rockland landing is temporarily on hold due to high noise levels from the operation. TZC will implement additional noise-reducing measures before resuming these operations. Sheet pile driving will commence once the measures are in place. All other construction activities not associated with driving the sheet piles will continue.

Work will also continue on the Rockland temporary work trestle near the county shoreline, including pile driving to install the temporary foundations needed to support the platform. The trestles will support cranes for the construction of the western-most section of the new bridge.

Mariners 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 illuminated at night as are all moorings, barges and other equipment.