The public will be able to see construction up close and learn all about the mega-project.
The two designated spots from which people can watch the new Tappan Zee Bridge get built are likely to open in October.
The sites will be at parks in Nyack and Tarrytown and feature view finders, seats and detail-rich panels about constructing the world’s widest bridge.
Even though the river villages share a common goal, they are working separately to build their respective viewing areas.
Local officials anticipate the spots will prove to be tourist draws, and entice people to spend money at village shops and restaurants.
Nyack
Rockland’s viewing area is piggybacking on a long-planned conversion of the fishing pier at the southern end of Memorial Park.
The village is planning to hold a groundbreaking during the first week of August, Mayor Jen Laird-White said. It had already secured a $150,000 grant from New York’s state department when Tappan Zee project officials approached it about using the 90-foot long pier as an official vantage point.
Laird-White called it “frosting on the cake” since the village would receive $50,000 to make the pier even more of an attraction.
Village trustees last Thursday awarded a contract for installation of the piles for the pier.
Pile driving is expected to begin in late August followed by decking, Village Administrator Jim Politi said.
“Once you set the pilings, which I’m sure will take a couple of weeks, then building the actual structure is another couple of weeks,” he said.
From that point, Politi said it was just a matter to adding the decorative lighting, fancy wood railings and the bridge-related materials.
The viewing area should be ready in October, he said.
Tarrytown
Village trustees last week authorized a $50,000 contract with the state Thruway Authority to move forward on the viewing area at RiverWalk Park at the end of West Main Street, Village Administrator Mike Blau said. Both Tarrytown and Nyack are receiving funding through a special $20 million community fund set up for the project. The Thruway Authority and bridge builder Tappan Zee Constructors are jointly contributing to it.
Once the village receives the technical specifications from the Thruway’s design consultant, it will put the project out to bid, likely in mid-August.
After the bids are received and one selected, Blau expects work will begin in mid- to late September.
“It shouldn’t take that long to actually do the construction end of this project,” he said, anticipating an early October opening date.
According to project renderings, a tiered timber bench will be added to the existing round deck that’s largely enclosed by a stone wall. A pergola will provide shade for visitors.
Three colorful interpretive panels will offer a bevy of information: from an overview of the construction site to design and features of the $3.9 billion bridge to a project schedule. A “spotter’s guide” for the different types of equipment being used on the river may prove most popular of all.
Besides describing what each vessel does, the guide also offers a factoid about each one. For example, the super crane registered as the Left Coast Lifter is longer than a football field while one floating concrete batch plant can produce enough concrete to fill 100 cement trucks in a single day.
There is no mention of tolls.
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