With a fleet of approximately 130 floating cranes, barges, tugboats and other vessels working on the New NY Bridge, construction continues to move forward. The coming year will see the completion of the new crossing’s foundations and an increasing number of bridge piers across the Hudson River.

Early in 2015, the I Lift NY super crane will make the first of what will be hundreds of heavy lifts by installing a 600-ton approach span pile cap, a task that no other crane on the job can handle. Next year will also bring the completion of phase one of pile driving (phase two is scheduled for 2017, after the landings of existing bridge are removed); the installation of numerous precast approach-span pile capsby the project’s floating cranes; and the completion of the main-span pile caps, which will support the soaring 419-foot main span towers. The bridge also will begin to take its finished form, as segments of the road deck are mounted on the steel girders that connect the approach span piers. With the placement of thousands of tons of concrete and steel in the coming year, the project is steadily progressing towards completion in 2018.

Individuals keen on observing progress of the New NY Bridge project firsthand are invited to visit the recently opened Westchester viewing platform in Tarrytown’s Scenic Hudson RiverWalk Park. The platform is equipped with telescopes and a spotter’s guide, which describes the wide array of equipment on the river. The Rockland viewing platform, which will be situated in Nyack’s Memorial Park, is under development and is slated to open in early 2015. The project’s day-by-day progress also can be tracked from the comfort of home, thanks to construction cameras situated at various vantage points on and around the project site and accessible from the project website.

Here’s to another year of progress on this historic project in 2015!

http://www.newnybridgegallery.com/updates/new-year-of-constructionlooking-ahead-to-2015/