For immediate release: January 23, 2015
TWO LANES OF SOUTHBOUND NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY (I-87/I-287) CLOSED OVERNIGHT WEDNESDAY JAN. 28 AND THURSDAY JAN. 29
Two lanes of the southbound New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) will be closed between The Tappan Zee Bridge Toll Plaza in Tarrytown and exit 8A (Elmsford – NY Route 119 – Saw Mill River Parkway North) during the overnights of Tuesday, January 27 and Wednesday, January 28. The two overnight closures will occur between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. and are necessary to accommodate work on an electronic message sign facility.
Bridge Abutment Work Continues
Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) will continue assembling formwork that will shape the bridge’s landing on the Rockland and Westchester shorelines. The abutments, which will be made of steel, concrete and earth, will serve as strong bases for where the new crossing meets the landside roadway.
Pile Driving and Other Construction Activity
Construction will continue in the Hudson River as crews place the foundations of the new bridge. Work will include pile driving from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and noon to 7 p.m., Saturday.
TZC will continue limited concrete placement for foundations near the South Nyack shoreline. In the absence of the project’s floating batch plants, which were temporarily taken out of service last month after a silo failed, the concrete for this work will be acquired from local concrete suppliers and will be delivered by truck to the Rockland trestle located off of the New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) southbound access ramp. Trucks will 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.
Westchester landing foundation operations continue as crews work to construct the land based piers and abutment for the new bridge.
- Additional work includes:
- Pile cap foundation construction
- Main span foundation construction
- River Road utility work
- Support for river-based work from the Rockland trestle
- Survey inspections on 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.