For immediate release: August 4, 2016 STAY CABLE INSTALLATION CONTINUES Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) continues to install the new northbound bridges stay cable system. The stay cables are comprised of numerous metal strands, tightly packed in a protective sheath. After the initial installation process, TZC will install additional strands inside the sheath to provide further strength. TZC will install new structural steel sections and stay cables on alternating sides of the towers as work continues. Precast concrete deck panels will also be placed in the erected steel sections to provide a base driving surface. Maintenance Dock Construction Noise Barrier Construction TZC also will continue constructing foundation walls for the future highway and shared-use path along the northbound Thruway in South Nyack. The operation is scheduled to continue in the coming months. Additional work includes:
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. The U.S. Coast Guard also has established a safety zone encompassing all navigable waters within a 200-yard radius of the largest machine on the project, the I Lift NY super crane, legally registered with the U.S. Coast Guard as the Left Coast Lifter. 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. The Eastern RNA will be extremely active and vessels transitioning to and from the eastern shoreline at Tarrytown should approach and depart to the north. The Western RNA will be impassable at times and mariners should stay clear of the area. Boaters are strongly urged to use the center 600 feet of the main channel (when available) to navigate in a north-south direction with no wake at a maximum speed of five knots. Boaters should expect periodic partial closures of the main channel due to construction activities. Tune to Marine Radio Channel 22A for the latest U.S. Coast Guard advisories. Mariners also should be aware that TZC will continue work in the vicinity of the side channels under the existing bridge. Mariners are advised to stay clear of all overhead work and maintain a safe distance of 1,000 feet from all construction equipment and support vessels. In addition, all bridge piers and abutments are protected by a 25-yard security zone. Additional temporary navigational lights have been installed on the existing bridge 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 permit requirements, as are all moorings, barges and other equipment. All mariners should consult the latest USCG Local Notice to Mariners before transiting this area. More New NY Bridge boater safety information, including the U.S. Coast Guard Notice to Mariners and construction site map can be found at NewNYBridge.com/Boater. The page includes an interactive GPS map showing vessel locations on the Hudson River, detailing which vessels are stopped and which are in motion to a new location, for recreational and commercial boaters to get current information on the very active construction zone. The vessel tracking map is for informational purposes and not intended for navigation. All lane closures are subject to change due to traffic, weather or emergency situations. Please visit http://www.thruway.ny.gov/travelers/map/ for real-time information regarding traffic conditions. ###
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Project Update: STAY CABLE INSTALLATION CONTINUES
The New NY Bridge July Newsletter
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New Tappan Zee expected to become top tourism destination
The answer is years away but it’s conceivable the world’s widest crossing could one day rank alongside New York’s many treasured landmarks, which include Grand Central Terminal, the Brooklyn Bridge and most recently, the Walkway Over the Hudson.
People walking or biking over the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland will enjoy six scenic overlooks along the 3-mile path. The northerly view would offer stunning vistas of the water, Hook Mountain and the Sleepy Hollow lighthouse.
“That really is a big draw,” said Larry Oakner, senior partner of strategy and engagement with CoreBrand, a marketing consultant firm in Manhattan.
“It may fall into those hidden gem kind of ideas of what New York state has to offer,” he added.
Although the first of the Tappan Zee’s two spans will open in late 2016, the path won’t be ready until 2018 when it will become part of the northern span that carries traffic into Rockland.
A tourism director’s dream scenario would envision thousands of people arriving on weekends to descend upon the path, while pumping money into shops and restaurants in Tarrytown and the Nyacks. Bicycle clubs from New York City and the region would add it to their routes; out-of-state visitors would opt to stay overnight to take in local attractions, including the first major new bridge to be built in the metropolitan area in half a century.
“Just to simply build the bridge won’t deliver the greatest return for you from a tourism perspective,” said Bill Baker, chief strategist of Total Destination Marketing, an Oregon-based firm that helps communities with branding. “They want reasonable experiences, not to just take a photo of it.”
Baker said the landmark offered a unique opportunity for local businesses.
“The parties need to start talking and planning for it,” he said. “There may be some need to commit some funds and perhaps re-purpose some plans.”
Michael Yanko, whose company is constructing a 132-room hotel in Nyack, is banking on the new bridge and walkway drawing visitors from all over. Located off Exit 11 on the Thruway, Nylo Nyack is expected to open in June 2015, targeting both corporate clients and tourists.
“We will have packages for couples to come from the city and to stay in Nyack for the weekend,” said Yanko, a developer and co-owner of WY Management. “Certainly the bike and pedestrian lane and a beautiful bridge is helping.”
In Tarrytown, plans call for putting up a visitors center with parking for about 100 cars near the bridge on South Broadway. The path will connect to South Nyack but exactly where is far from settled. The village is almost entirely residential, further complicating the parking issue.
Rockland County Legislator Nancy Low-Hogan lives in South Nyack and represents several river villages near the bridge.
“In my mind, the (path) is going to be a tourist attraction. Period. End of story. That means opportunity. It also means challenges and that requires planning,” said Low-Hogan, who has taken up the tourism torch with fellow Legislators Alden Wolfe and Harriet Cornell.
They plan to host a meeting next month with officials from South Nyack, Nyack, Grand View, Piermont and Orangetown to talk about next steps. They later hope to expand the sessions to include other local and regional representatives, business leaders and tourism experts.
“Eventually all of these people have to be in this conversation,” Low-Hogan said.
The state Thruway Authority, which owns the Tappan Zee and its replacement, has not released estimates on how many visitors the path could attract.
Some are looking to learn from the experiences of other elevated pedestrian paths, including the High Line in Manhattan and Walkway Over the Hudson, a mile-long converted railroad bridge connecting Poughkeepsie and Highland that has attracted nearly 3 million visitors since opening in 2009.
David Rocco, a Yorktown Heights resident who served on the Walkway’s board of directors from 2005 to 2010, predicted the Tappan Zee path would become a major tourist destination. He visited San Francisco last summer and took a stroll on the 2-mile walkway on the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. He thought of home as he saw people jogging and cycling while taking in spectacular views of San Francisco Bay and Candlestick Point.
“I think it’s going to be magnificent,” Rocco said of the new Tappan Zee. “It’s going to be such a draw for both sides of the river.”
However, he said there was the matter of the traffic noise — “It was loud” — but it didn’t take away from his overall enjoyment.
Tappan Zee officials may want to keep an eye on the Bay Bridge to see if its path ends up giving the Golden Gate Bridge a little friendly competition.
More than 5,500 people showed up to use the Bay Bridge Trail on the first Sunday it opened on Sept. 8, 2013.
John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Bay Area Toll Authority, said while there aren’t updated hard figures, he estimated thousands use the path on a good weather weekend, even though it won’t be completed until June. And driving there requires walking a mile from a parking lot just to reach its entrance.
“We weren’t sure how big of an attraction it would be,” Goodwin said. “It proved to be a major attraction indeed.”
Twitter: @ksaeed1
Ask us about the Tappan Zee
Journal News/lohud transportation reporters Theresa Juva-Brown and Khurram Saeed will answer questions and listen to concerns about the Tappan Zee Bridge project from 11 a.m. to noon on Nov. 1 at Pierson Park in Tarrytown. Join them for the informal one-on-one talk over coffee and snacks.
Tappan Zee fast facts
Bridge type: Cable-stayed
Project cost: $3.9 billion
Construction schedule: 5 years, 2.5 months
Project completed to date: 25 percent
Numbers of spans: 2
Traffic lanes: 4 on each span
Breakdown lanes: 1 on each span
Express bus lane/emergency access lanes: 1 on each span
First span opens: December 2016
Second span opens: November 2017
Project physical completion: April 2018
NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
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President Obama and Governor Cuomo Visit New NY Bridge Project Site With the Tappan Zee Bridge and the New NY Bridge project site in the background, President Obama stood by the Hudson River to make a push for funding transportation infrastructure. The Highway Trust Fund is projected to be insolvent by the fall, and the President is calling on Congress to […] |
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07-08-2014
The New NY Bridge team is reaching out to New York firms, suppliers and subcontractors – particularly disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) – to aid construction efforts. DBEs are defined by the U.S Department of Transportation as small businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals such as women, minorities, veterans or disabled persons.
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07-01-2014
Road work along highways and ramps presents safety challenges to both motorists and construction crews. The New York State Thruway Authority keeps the public informed and up to date on the latest construction activities to help ensure the safety of motorists as well as Thruway and Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) workers.
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06-17-2014
Native to the Hudson River and once plentiful here, the shortnose and Atlantic sturgeon were identified as endangered species and fishing of them was halted in 1996. Since then, the sturgeon population has been growing steadily in the Hudson, one of the species’ most important habitats.…»
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06-24-2014
The New NY Bridge team is reducing the project’s impact to the environment through the use of construction platforms-known as trestles on either side of the Hudson River. The trestles, which extend 1,000 feet from each shoreline and run parallel to the existing bridge, enable heavy duty machinery to work over shallow water and reduce the […]…»
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The New NY Bridge project is now accepting submissions for its 2014 Bridge Art Show. The juried exhibit is an opportunity for local artists to showcase their interpretations of the new bridge design or the existing Tappan Zee Bridge.The project’s Visual Quality Panel – which includes Rockland and Westchester representatives involved in the arts, architecture, […]
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Minelly De Coo Design Production Team Area Manager Minelly De Coo is an area manager for the design production team, who coordinates efforts between the office and the field. As an environmental specialist, she analyzed sound data and worked with the project’s visual quality panel to help design the project’s noise barriers. Minelly is also involved in the environmental monitoring for the project, overseeing sound monitoring stations and directing crew members in the field. She is notified of any environmental concerns that may arise, and works to see that they are resolved in a timely manner. An invaluable member of the project team, Minelly is proud to see progress on the bridge as it rises out of the Hudson River. |
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Parking TZ Construction workers a challenge in Tarrytown
October 12, 2013 Theresa Juva-Brown
The consortium building the new Tappan Zee Bridge is learrning that finding parking for its workers can feel just as complicated as dredging the bottom of the Hudson River.
Tappan Zee Constructors is already renting an office and 135 parking spaces on the property of Hudson Harbor, a condominium complex in Tarrytown. To accommodate the growing number of construction workers, TZC wants to add up to 165 parking spaces there.
But doing so would violate Tarrytown’s zoning code, which calls for that vacant area to eventually be used for condominiums, village officials say.
The rule also requires that Hudson Harbor’s parking lots be used by people who live or work there.
The new parking area would be used by bridge workers who would take boats from a nearby pier to construction sites on the river.
“What’s embedded in the zoning code is the municipal desire not to have parking lots all over the place — that’s why (Hudson Harbor) is not zoned for parking and it’s slated for development,” Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell said. “Having a parking lot for construction work on the Tappan Zee Bridge was not envisioned for this.”
Fixell noted that there were other parking areas TZC could consider in or near the village, but those options may not be as convenient and could involve paying for permits.
TZC declined to comment on the parking proposal. State officials and a Hudson Harbor spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
Village Administrator Mike Blau said trustees would have to approve a zoning code amendment to allow the new lot. He added that several Hudson Harbor residents have expressed to him their concern about the idea.
Trustees are expected to discuss TZC’s proposal next week and make a decision in the coming weeks, Blau said.
Read complete article here: http://www.lohud.com/article/20131012/NEWS/310120108
New Tappan Zee Bridge spurs interest in nearby commercial parcels; Vacant commercial sites now sold, leased
LoHud October 15, 2013 Written by Theresa Juva-Brown
The Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project is giving new life to vacant commercial properties that have languished since the Great Recession.
The site of the former Lovett power plant in Stony Point, for instance, sat unused for years before bridge builder Tappan Zee Constructors recently signed a lease with NRG Energy to assemble bridge pieces there. As part of the deal, Stony Point could collect up to $500,000 in permit fees over the next five years.
It’s been a similar situation in West Nyack, where the former Journal News printing plant at 160 N. Route 303 hasn’t had a tenant in three years, said Timothy Hauser of the Hauser Bros., the real estate investment company that owns the site.
That will change this spring, when state police and the New York State Thruway Authority temporarily move from Tarrytown to the 42,000-square foot warehouse that is currently being renovated.
Tappan Zee Constructors is relocating those operations because it plans to tear down the current barracks/Thruway offices on North Broadway and use the area for bridge construction equipment.
“We’re giving them a piece of property at a fair market value rate, and they are taking the expenses off my lap that I have to struggle to pay,” Hauser said of the parcel on Route 303 near Thruway Exit 12. Just before the deal was reached in April, the asking price for the warehouse was $6.25 per square foot, according to the website of Rand Commercial Services, which was involved with the agreement.
Hauser said the five-year lease could be extended, but for now the site’s future remains wide open.
“It’s one of the best locations in the entire county for any type of business — a car dealer, hotel. It’s a discussion already,” he said.
The recent deals, even if they are for just five years, help the local real estate industry but also the region’s optimism about the overall economy, said Paul Adler, vice president of Rand Commercial.
“People are understanding that this is the beginning of the growth,” he said. “What we’re seeing is just enough to nudge us out of this recession.”
“There is income, and there is enough time to plan what to do after five years now that the landlord has cash flow,” he added. “These 5-year injections of confidence in the market are going to spur smart growth.”
The new bridge, especially the thousands of workers the project will bring, helped convince Howard Josephs to purchase a commercial parcel in Nyack last month.
Josephs, a partner with Josephs Group, bought slightly less than an acre near Route 59 and Waldron Avenue.
A gas station and fast food joint once operated there, but the site has been dormant for years, he said.
After the land is remediated this winter, he plans to build a 5,000-square foot restaurant and retail center.
He declined to disclose how much he paid for the site.
“It’s a very busy corner, and we see it as the gateway to Nyack,” he told The Journal News. “I think the bridge (project) will definitely bring a lot of people for a number of years.”
The project is also giving a lift to property owners in Westchester.
Tappan Zee Constructors moved into its main office on White Plains Road in Tarrytown this spring and is leasing a satellite office on the grounds of Hudson Harbor, a residential complex on the Tarrytown waterfront.
Farrokh Hormozi, an economics professor at Pace University in Pleasantville, said property owners who are leasing instead of selling is a sign that they expect their assets to gain significant value after the new bridge is completed. He said more businesses and people will want to live and work near the future Tappan Zee. “It’s all facilitated by a more comfortable ride across the bridge,” he said.
Read complete article here:http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/201310142341/NEWS/310140063
The New York Bridge Quarterly Newsletter
The NewNYBridge releases it quarterly Newsletter.
Check out the construction progress and what the future holds for the TappanZee Bridge project.
Visit: www.TheNewNyBridge.com
Original Tappan Zee Bridge parts will be salvaged for other projects
Written by: Khurram Saeed; Twitter: @ksaeed1
Though the Tappan Zee Bridge is destined for demolition in a few years, some of its parts and equipment may find new life elsewhere.
The state Thruway Authority intends to save
elements of the bridge when it’s torn down in 2017 to make way for its $3.9 billion replacement. The authority has provided a list of materials to be saved in its contract with Tappan Zee Constructors, the team designing and building the new crossing.
The list includes 150 concrete deck panel units from the bridge’s causeway; 15,000 feet of steel barrier installed on them; the movable barrier and the machines that shift it; the bridge’s necklace lighting; light stanchions; fiber-optic cables and other equipment.
“Anything that can be salvaged by others will be salvaged,” said Ted Nadratowski, the Thruway’s interim director of maintenance and operations.
The elements will be used for other Thruway projects. Nadratowski said the precast deck panels, for example, could be shortened and used as small culverts on the Thruway.
Recent rehabilitation work includes $385 million to replace much of the road deck on the Tappan Zee since 2007. The project is largely complete and is expected to wrap up by the end of this month, Nadratowski said.
Reusing some of the old bridge was a good idea, said Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, D-Mount Pleasant.
“The old adage of reduce, reuse and recycle applies here,” he said.
Abinanti said he was “disappointed” that Thruway officials didn’t put more emphasis on finding another use for the bridge. He was among those who pitched the idea of using the old bridge as a park. But that wouldn’t be possible since the new southern span will meet land where the current bridge sits.
Still, he suggested part of the bridge could have been reused or the landing redesigned to incorporate fishing piers or some amenity for the public.
“They never did a serious study of how can you use the existing structure in some way, shape or form,” Abinanti said. “I like the idea of reusing it any way you can.”
TZ Construction to Begin On River Road, S Nyack
For immediate release: September 6, 2013
UTILITY WORK BEGINS ON RIVER ROAD
Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC will begin utility work on River Road in South Nyack the week of Sept. 9. This work will continue through November and will involve reducing the roadway to one lane during daytime hours. During off hours the road will have temporary coverings in place that may create uneven driving surfaces. Motorists and bicyclists should slow down and use caution in the area.
Construction of the Rockland County trestle will continue and include daytime pile driving to install the temporary foundation piles needed to support the platform. Pile driving will be limited to a maximum of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and, occasionally, from 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturdays. The trestle is a work platform that will support a crane for the construction of the westernmost section of the new bridge. The 1200-foot long platform helps reduce the amount of dredging required.
Impact pile driving will continue as part of the ongoing test pile program and will continue through October at various locations for future pile foundations during the same timeframe as above. The test pile program will verify subsurface conditions and test structural load capacities in preparation for construction of the new bridge’s permanent foundation.
The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a revised Notice to Mariners with updated safety information, including a request that boaters use the main channel, reduce wake and use extreme caution while transiting the area in the vicinity of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
The Coast Guard boating safety information can be found on the project website, NewNYBridge.com, under the boating safety icon.
On Monday, Sept. 9, and Tuesday, Sept. 10, one southbound right hand lane and shoulder on I-87/I-287 between exit 11 and the Tappan Zee Bridge will be closed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for shoulder work. On Wednesday, Sept. 11, and Thursday, Sept. 12, one northbound right hand lane and shoulder on I-87/I-287 between exit 8 and exit 9 will be closed from 10 a.m. to 3p.m. for shoulder work.
Ongoing operations:
• Dredging operations will continue 24/7
• Test pile program
• Rockland bulkhead construction and Dock Extension at Rockland under existing bridge
• Temporary Rockland trestle construction including pile driving on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Temporary Westchester trestle construction including pile driving on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Survey inspections on existing bridge
• Mobilization at the exit 10 staging area
• Support for river-based work from the Rockland shoreline
New NY Bridge Update August 16, 2013: LOAD TESTING FOR THE TEST PILE PROGRAM BEGINS; LANE CLOSURES ON BRIDGE
For immediate release: August 16, 2013
LOAD TESTING FOR THE TEST PILE PROGRAM BEGINS;
LANE CLOSURES ON BRIDGE
Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) will begin testing both static and lateral loads this week as part of its test pile program.
These load tests are performed to ensure piles are capable of sustaining the design load of the new bridge. Testing will be conducted over a 40-hour period.
Impact pile driving will continue this week as part of the ongoing test pile program and will continue through October at various locations for future pile foundations. This work will be performed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and, at times, on Saturdays from 12 noon to 7 p.m. The test pile program will verify subsurface conditions and test structural load capacities in preparation for construction of the new bridge’s permanent foundation.
Overnight lane closures will also be required in both directions on I-87/I-287 and the Tappan Zee Bridge due to various construction activities.
Beginning Monday, August 19 through the morning of Wednesday, August 21, one southbound right hand lane and shoulder between exit 11 and the Tappan Zee Bridge will be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the installation of concrete traffic barriers to facilitate the reconstruction of the Thruway maintenance ramp. Additionally, one southbound right hand lane on the Tappan Zee Bridge will be closed during this period for the installation of structural monitors.
Beginning Wednesday, August 21 through the morning of Saturday, August 24, one northbound right hand lane and shoulder between exit 9 and the Tappan Zee Bridge, as well as one northbound right hand lane on the Tappan Zee Bridge will be closed from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. for the installation of structural monitors.
Additional geotechnical borings will be conducted on the river at various locations. Operations will run 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
TZC will continue dredging operations in the Hudson River as part of the New NY Bridge Project. Dredging will occur through October 31 to avoid negatively impacting migration and spawning patterns of local sturgeon populations and other fish species.
Dredging crews will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting from the main navigation channel end of the dredging footprint towards the shoreline on both the Rockland and Westchester County sides of the bridge. The operations will deepen the river’s shallow water level in the work zone by removing sediment from the river bottom. The dredged materials are being properly disposed of at offsite locations.
The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a revised Notice to Mariners with updated safety information, including a request that boaters use the main channel, reduce wake and use extreme caution while transiting the area in the vicinity of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
The Coast Guard boating safety information can be found the project website, www.NewNYBridge.com under the boating safety icon.
Ongoing operations:
· Test pile program
· Rockland bulkhead construction (including fence & gates) and Dock Extension at Rockland (under existing bridge)
· Temporary Westchester trestle construction including pile driving on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
· Survey inspections on existing bridge
· Mobilization at the exit 10 staging area
· Support for river-based work from the Rockland shoreline
Rockland:
TZC will continue fencing and sidewalk work along River Road in South Nyack north of the existing bridge. This work is part of the bulkhead construction area and will be performed on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. At times, River Road will be limited to one lane with flag persons in place to ensure the safe flow of traffic.
DREDGING OPERATIONS BEGIN, TEST PILE PROGRAM IMPACT PILE DRIVING ONGOING
Project Update
For immediate release: August 2, 2013
Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) began 24 hour a day dredging operations today in the Hudson River as part of the New NY Bridge Project.
The U.S. Coast Guard has issued a revised Notice to Mariners with updated safety information, including a request that boaters use extreme caution within 1,000 feet of all construction barges as a safety precaution.
The Coast Guard boating safety information can be found the project website, www.NewNYBridge.com.
Dredging will occur over a three-month period from August 1 through October 31 to avoid negatively impacting migration and spawning patterns of local sturgeon populations and other fish species.
Dredging crews will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week starting from the main navigation channel end of the dredging footprint towards the shoreline on both the Rockland and Westchester County sides of the bridge. The operations will deepen the river’s shallow water level in the work zone by removing sediment from the river bottom. The dredged materials are being processed and properly disposed at offsite locations.
Impact Pile driving began this week as part of the ongoing test pile program and will continue over the next three months at various locations for future pile foundations. This work will be performed 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and at times on Saturdays from 12 noon to 7 p.m. The test pile program will verify subsurface conditions test structural load capacities in preparation for construction of the new bridge’s permanent foundation.
Ongoing operations:
· Test pile program
· Rockland bulkhead construction (including fence & gates)
· Dock Extension at Rockland (under existing bridge)
· Temporary Westchester trestle construction including pile driving on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
· Survey inspections on existing bridge
· Rockland and Westchester environmental monitor installations
· Geotechnical land borings
· Mobilization at the exit 10 staging area
· Support for river-based work from the Rockland shoreline
Westchester:
Limited test-boring operations will continue on Thruway property near the Irving Neighborhood in Tarrytown. The work is scheduled to be conducted between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday, August 5 through Wednesday, August 6.
Rockland:
TZC, LLC will reconstruct the sidewalk along River Road in S. Nyack north of the existing bridge. This is part of the Bulkhead construction area and will be performed between 7 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday, August 5 and Tuesday, August 6. River Road will be limited to one lane with flag persons in place to control traffic safely.
Survey activity will occur in the southbound lanes of I-87/I-287 and will require a temporary lane closure between exit 10 and the existing bridge from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday, August 5 and Tuesday, August 6.
ONGOING PRECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES CONTINUE ON THE NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT
For immediate release: July 5, 2013
ONGOING PRECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES CONTINUE ON THE NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT
Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC, LLC) will continue preconstruction activities the week of July 8 in Westchester and Rockland Counties.
Ongoing operations:
– Cleaning and preparation for future construction of the Thruway’s Rockland Bulkhead
– Construction of the temporary Westchester work trestle which includes pile driving operations that will occur between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
– Survey inspections on existing bridge
– Rockland environmental monitor installations continue
– Geotechnical land borings
– Mobilization at the Exit 10 staging area
– Support for river-based work from the Rockland shoreline
Lane closures will be in place on the right lane of northbound I-87/I-287 on Monday, Tuesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for installation of instrumentation to monitor the existing bridge during construction. Lane closures will also be in place on the southbound right lane of I-87/I-287 Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the same activity.
Residents will vote on Tappan Zee Bridge noise barriers
LoHud June 27, 2013 Written By Khurrum Saeed
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013306270071
About 400 Rockland and Westchester residents have until July 11 to decide whether they want noise barriers on and near the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
Four areas are under consideration for the noise walls, which will range from 10 to 18 feet in height depending on their location, a project official said.
Different neighborhoods are voting on their noise barriers in their area. The vote is legally binding under federal law.
Residents have also been asked to choose a look for the barriers that will help guide the final design.
If approved, the $2 million noise walls would be part of the new $4 billion project to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge and would be added during its five-year construction phase.
Last year, a group of South Nyack residents successfully demanded to be included in the vote since their property — Salisbury Point Cooperative — sits along the Thruway and will be even closer to the new bridge than the existing span.
“They really got smart because of the ruckus that we raised,” Salisbury Point resident John Brown said of the state Thruway Authority.
Brown planned to cast his vote Thursday in favor of adding the extra layer of noise protection and sensed most people in his complex were with him.
Salisbury Point board president Catherine McCue said she was grateful the state reconsidered and involved them in the process, along with dozens of homeowners in South Nyack and Upper Grandview. In all, 268 people in Rockland were sent ballots and 106 in Westchester.
The barriers and their appearance were discussed at a Thursday night meeting at the Best Western hotel in Nyack.
Two meetings held in Westchester earlier this week brought out about 50 residents, some from The Quay and Tappan Landing Road complexes.
In order for the barriers to move ahead, at least 50 percent of the ballot holders must vote, and a simple majority must vote in favor of building them.
Neighboring community takes sound-proofing offer; 2 more complexes consider funds to mitigate noise
Lohud; June 25, 2013 Written by Theresa Juva-Brown
Neighbors want more than noise reducing windows
http://www.lohud.com/videonetwork/2507049237001/TZB-neighbors-offered-noise-protections
Nearly a week after Tappan Zee Constructors offered to spend $4.2 million on noise-reducing windows and doors for some bridge neighbors, only one community has officially accepted the proposal.
Bradford Mews has agreed to Tappan Zee Constructor’s offer to shell out $1 million for special doors and windows in the South Nyack rental community, project officials confirmed.
Meanwhile, Salisbury Point in South Nyack and The Quay in Tarrytown continue to mull the offer; leaders from both groups met separately with the project team on Tuesday. The money being offered is part of a $20 million fund split between the state and Tappan Zee Constructors to pay for community improvements during construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
When Tappan Zee Constructors announced the $4.2 million deal last week, leaders of Salisbury Point and The Quay slammed it for not addressing all their concerns. At The Quay, an 89-unit condominium complex, residents had asked for a pool enclosure and new fencing, in addition to the window and doors.
“It looks like it’s not going to happen and that’s very frustrating and depressing for us all,” said Alice Goldberg, president of the board.
Tuesday’s meeting with project officials focused on the types of windows Tappan Zee Constructors would pay for, she said. Goldberg said she is confident residents will reach an agreement with the builders.
The Quay’s proposal calls for windows with varying degrees of sound proofing based on the condo’s distance from the bridge construction.
Tappan Zee Constructors also denied Salisbury Point’s requests for security fencing and a pool cover. Thruway Authority spokesman Daniel Weiller criticized residents for expecting a pool dome.
“Some of the groups are asking for the project to pay for extras that have nothing to do with noise, such as a swimming pool dome, and it would be irresponsible to use the budget for the new bridge to pay for things like that,” he said in an email. “The goal is to find a fair and reasonable solution to help them install quality noise-reducing windows and doors, not to write a blank check.”
Goldberg disputed Weiller’s claim, arguing that “we have been cautious and very conservative” with the requests, adding that a cover for the pool would protect it from construction pollution.
The Quay’s residents, along with other Tarrytown and Rockland residents, are also considering designs for permanent noise barriers on the new span and around it. Officials have scheduled public meetings this week to explain options to Westchester and Rockland residents who received ballots in the mail.
Meetings will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at 303 S. Broadway in Tarrytown and 7 p.m. Thursday at the Best Western in Nyack.
http://www.lohud.com/article/20130625/NEWS/306250099?gcheck=1
Tappan Zee Bridge: Feds, state assure South Nyack of toll removal
Lohud June 15, 2013; author Khurram Saeed
Federal and state authorities have assured South Nyack officials in writing that temporary equipment that will be used to collect Tappan Zee Bridge tolls electronically in South Nyack will be removed when the new crossing is completed.
The Federal Highway Administration approved a change that updates the language in the $4 billion project’s final environmental review and its official record of decision confirming the toll facility will leave its interim home at Exit 10 on the Thruway in five years or so.
The state Thruway Authority on Thursday also made its position clear in a letter to South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian.
“Upon completion of the new bridge with its permanent toll facilities in Tarrytown, the temporary gantry with toll equipment will be removed from Interchange 10,” project director Peter Sanderson wrote.
South Nyack officials had been demanding the guarantees because they wish to commercially redevelop the Exit 10 interchange.
Project officials have said the toll gantry is expected to be erected next year and tested for six months before being used.
An environmental monitor was installed recently at Interchange 10 so the public can keep track of noise, dust and vibration levels.
Project officials also confirmed, as first reported in The Journal News last week, that Tappan Zee Constructors will install the monitors at Bradford Mews Apartments on Piermont Avenue and Ferris Lane, a residential street in Grand View. In Rockland, there are already monitors at Salisbury Point Cooperative in South Nyack; on River Road, south of Grand View Village Hall; and near the Thruway’s Interchange 12 in West Nyack.
Preparation for the start of full-blown construction of the new parallel spans is continuing. During the next two weeks, two large barge-mounted cranes that will be used to place permanent piles for the bridge will arrive in the area. Crews will assemble and moor each crane until the test pile work begins in the middle of next month. The cranes will be stationed on the north side of the bridge closer to the Rockland side of the Hudson River. Despite the imposing size, neither of these cranes are as large as the Left Coast Lifter, which is set to arrive at the end of this year.
Project officials said work also will begin next week on the Thruway Authority’s bulkhead area along River Road in South Nyack. Work includes clearing the site and construction of a larger bulkhead that will be used for equipment staging.
Tappan Zee Bridge Update: Two more monitors planned in Rockland
LoHud Jun 8, 2013 Written By Khurram Saeed
A South Nyack apartment complex and a residential street in Grand View may soon be home to devices to monitor noise, dust and vibrations during construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge.
Tappan Zee Constructors is working on finalizing details to install environmental monitors at Bradford Mews Apartments on Piermont Avenue and Ferris Lane, a project official told The Journal News on Friday afternoon.
South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian on said Friday morning that the monitors would be installed this weekend, but that’s not the case, the official said.
However, a monitor was recently installed at Interchange 10 of the Thruway in South Nyack, and another is set to go up next week on River Road, just south of Grand View Village Hall near Orangetown’s sewage pumping station.
That would bring to four the total number of monitors in Rockland, with two more on the horizon.
Devices were installed a few weeks ago at South Nyack’s Salisbury Point Cooperative, across from Bradford Mews, and near the Thruway’s Interchange 12 in West Nyack.
South Nyack has been working with the bridge’s design-builder to find suitable locations since TZC proposed putting up the shoebox-sized devices in front of Village Hall and Elizabeth Place Park, both in the village.
“We had them go around again and give a look,” Christian said. “They came up with these two alternatives (Bradford Mews and Ferris Lane). There may be other sites to come.”
Christian said discussions will continue with TZC about other appropriate locations so residents can keep an eye on potential quality of life disturbances during the five-year construction of the twin-span crossing.
Four environmental monitors in Tarrytown are already in place.
Data from all of the devices can be viewed at http://newnybridgegall- ery.com/noise/.
WESTCHESTER TEMPORARY TRESTLE WORK CONTINUES
For immediate release: May 10, 2013
Contact: Dan Weiller (518)471-5300
WESTCHESTER TEMPORARY TRESTLE WORK CONTINUES
During the week of May 13, work is expected to continue on the Westchester trestle, which is the first of the temporary work platforms to be constructed as part of the New NY Bridge project.
The work will include daytime pile driving to install the temporary foundation piles needed to support the platform. Pile driving will be limited to the hours of 7 am to 7 pm Monday through Friday. The trestle is a work platform that will support a crane for the construction of the easternmost 1000 feet of the new bridge. The 1000-foot long platform helps reduce the amount of dredging required and allows the crews to work from the water and not from the Westchester shoreline. Noise, vibration and air quality monitors are in place in Westchester and data can be viewed at www.newnybridge.com.
Arborists will be evaluating trees near the project, recording the types, size and health of the trees. This information will help with TZC’s project planning and conservation efforts.
Surveying work and soil sampling for the New NY Bridge Project will continue during the week of May 13 as engineering crews conduct more design surveys at various locations in Rockland, and Westchester in the vicinity of the project, including the Westchester access road location on New York State Thruway property in Tarrytown.
Preconstruction geotechnical investigations will continue as small barge-based drilling equipment will work at various locations throughout the project footprint in the Hudson River. The crews are conducting preconstruction geotechnical surveys to determine soil conditions where future piles will be installed for the new span. Noise levels from the equipment will be at a minimum. The river-based operations will run continuously 24 hours a day Monday through Friday and possibly Saturday.
Westchester:
Limited test-boring operations will continue on land under the existing bridge and just to the north at the proposed bridge locations. These operations are being conducted on Thruway property and will not affect traffic in any way. The work is scheduled to be conducted between 7 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday.
Rockland:
At times, traffic on River Road near the South Nyack-Grand View border will be restricted to one lane during weekday daytime hours for utility investigations. Signs and flaggers will be in place to help keep traffic flowing safely.
Limited test-boring operations may start on land under the existing bridge and just to the north at the proposed bridge locations. These operations are being conducted on Thruway property and will not affect traffic in any way. The work is scheduled to be conducted between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday.
Soil sampling will be conducted in the westbound shoulder area of NY State Thruway during daytime hours; this operation will not cause lane closures and should not affect traffic
Tappan Zee Bridge project: Sound barrier plans trouble neighbors
Lohud May 9, 2013 Written by Theresa Juva-Brown and Khurram Saeed
Tarrytown residents worry they will be bothered by work trucks.
Residents are finally getting details on how their neighborhoods will be protected during construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge, but not everyone is convinced those measures will be enough.
In the tiny Tarrytown neighborhood of Irving, which sits next to the current bridge’s toll plaza, homeowners have asked the state for permanent sound barriers and assurances that long lines of trucks won’t rumble through their neighborhood. At a meeting with Tappan Zee Constructors and the state last week, homeowners learned a temporary wooden wall — not a concrete barrier — will be put up near Hudson Place, said Tori Weisel, president of the Irving Neighborhood Preservation Association. Several homes on Hudson Place sit next to a Thruway Authority maintenance road that will be used during the project.
Officials also said the Thruway’s dirt road will be covered with gravel. Residents are worried that won’t absorb truck vibrations as well as a hard surface, Weisel said.
It’s also still unclear how many trucks will use Van Wart Avenue to access Thruway property.
“It’s less about the construction and more about these trucks going by,” she said.
Residents were satisfied, however, to hear that the project team will conduct preconstruction surveys of properties on request. The surveys will document property conditions in case there is a later claim of damage. Homeowners on Tappan Landing Road in Tarrytown are also being offered the surveys.
In South Nyack, concerns remain about the location of devices that will track noise, dust and vibration levels.
Tappan Zee Constructors has proposed installing four devices in Rockland. Two would be in South Nyack at Salisbury Point Co-Operative and either at Elizabeth Park or South Nyack Village Hall but more may be needed, said South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian. The builder has proposed putting a monitor in Grand View and at Interchage 12 in West Nyack but will explore additional locations, state officials said.
The village also wants a written commitment that electronic tolling equipment set to go up on the Thruway in South Nyack will be removed after the new bridge is completed in 2018. Christian wants it added to the Thruway’s agreement with Tappan Zee Constructors.
Project officials said that the final environmental study has been changed to reflect the temporary toll location and that the permanent toll plaza will return to Tarrytown. The Federal Highway Administration recently approved the change, they said Wednesday.
Thousands of jobs, $2 billion in income forecast for region
LoHud May 7, 2013
Written by, Khurram Saeed and Theresa Juva-Brown
Construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge will create the equivalent of 7,700 full-time jobs and pour $2 billion in disposable personal income into the region in the next five years, according to a new state-commissioned economic study.
“The timing is just incredible — you are talking about putting money into the pockets of working people who for the past three or four years, as a group, had major difficulties,” said Al Samuels, president of the Rockland Business Association. “This is a tremendous asset for folks to come out of the recession.”
Samuels added that when people have more money to spend, local governments also benefit.
“The sales-tax revenue that will accrue to the county and local municipalities is also a big plus,” he said. “It’s good on so many fronts.”
The project is expected to create 38,644 direct and indirect jobs as reported in “job-years,” a standard employment measure used by government on projects. A job-year is one job held for one year. So a trucck driver who works on this project for the next five years will have worked five job-years.
Each year, the project will generate roughly 2,600 construction jobs, 500 office and administrative positions, and some 700 sales and transportation-related jobs, according to the analysis conducted by the state Department of Labor and Empire State Development.
The study predicted employment spikes in management, food services and finance. Additionally, it found that a large construction project like the Tappan Zee “will spur secondary labor demand in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, and population-dependent industries such as health care.”
The study noted that additional analysis was required to figure out specific occupations, when they will be created, and how long they will be needed.
Farrokh Hormozi, an economics professor at Pace University in White Plains, predicted the actual economic impacts of the $3.9 billion five-year project will begin to be felt within a year or so.
“It’s going to boost the economy of the region,” Hormozi said. “This is the type of (project) that cannot be outsourced. … You have to hire local people. Wages and salaries will be made locally. And the impact will be felt locally.”
He said there would be a multiplier effect as workers spend their earnings in their communities. Also, local businesses may directly benefit by providing materials and services for the project or indirectly by seeing their sales increase due to increased demand. That will create income for others, he said.
“These workers, they have to eat, they have to relax and they have go shopping,” Hormozi said.
The job figures were based on $3.9 billion of spending.
“This project is one of the biggest opportunities for us to work collaboratively with local business and contractors on placing New Yorkers in new and exciting jobs,” state Labor Commissioner Peter Rivera said in a statement, adding the agency was prepared to match workers to openings and businesses.
The overwhelming majority of construction and trade jobs will go to local unions, which are covered by a project labor agreement.
But Tappan Zee Constructors, the joint venture that will design and build the new bridge, has already begun accepting résumés from job seekers on its website, http://www.tappanzeeconstructors.com/. The state Labor Department will continue to host career fairs and training to recruit workers.
“The information developed by the state Department of Labor and Empire State Development maps out in new, greater details the jobs that building this new bridge will create throughout the region,” said Thomas Madison, executive director of the New York State Thruway Authority, whose agency requested the study.
Construction of the replacement bridge will generate $3.2 billion in gross domestic product, the study said. The project will create $5.6 billion in total value of all goods produced and $3.7 billion in total personal income.
Tappan Zee Bridge spectator areas may be set up during work
LoHud ; By Theresa Juva-Brown and Khurram Saeed
May 4, 2013
The massive effort to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge will create a grand spectacle on the river that likely will draw crowds of curious onlookers.
While Tarrytown has plenty of public waterfront where official viewing areas can be set up, that’s not the case across the river. Because there are no public spaces along the South Nyack shore, residents there are concerned that people will wander onto their properties to watch the $3.9 billion project take shape.
Trespassing is already a problem at South Nyack’s Salisbury Point, co-op Vice President Judy Hirschhorn said. The 120-unit riverfront complex has a front-row view of the Tappan Zee that often attracts outside visitors who make themselves at home on the complex’s sprawling lawn. Some cyclists are also notorious for urinating in Salisbury Point’s bushes, she said.
Residents worry that when heavy construction starts on the new Tappan Zee, spectators from all over will flock to their parking lots to get a glimpse of the action.
“We think it’s going to be a huge problem,” she said.
Nyack Mayor Jen Laird-White said some people might go to Nyack’s Memorial Park to get unimpeded — but distant — views of the construction.
One resident has proposed getting the project team to help overhaul Memorial Park, including moving the parking lot to Nyack Municipal Marina and building a pedestrian bridge over the inlet to connect the two areas, she said.
Meanwhile, leaders in Tarrytown are already looking at the village’s waterfront for possible viewing stations, including Losee and Pierson parks and the River Walk.
David Aukland, Tarrytown’s liaison to the project, said he envisions an area where people could not only watch construction but also learn about the project.
“We know the public is interested, and we’d rather them have clear information than have them guess,” he said.
The area, which he said would likely be created by the Thruway Authority and Tappan Zee Constructors, could include binoculars and signs that explain the work. The signs could also feature tags people scan with their smartphones to get information about local wildlife and history, he said.
That would be similar to the approach taken by another huge public works project, the reconstruction of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, which has a designated viewing area. The location offers information on the bridge’s history and great views of the self-anchored suspension portion of the new Bay Bridge East Span, said John Goodwin, spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
Brian Conybeare, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s special adviser on the Tappan Zee Bridge project, said the project team is discussing possible viewing sites with officials on both sides of the river.
“The goal is to find safe, accessible, public areas where people can view the project and take pictures once construction gets going, but no final determination on locations has been made,” he said in an email.
In addition to asking the project team for security fencing and cameras, Salisbury officials plan to post more trespassing signs and work with South Nyack-Grand View police to keep an eye out for unwelcome visitors.
Hirschhorn said measures need to be in place soon. Dredging of the river bottom is set to start in August and will likely attract attention, she said.
“We can’t have people walking all over our property,” she said.
www.NewNYBridge.com
For immediate release: May 3, 2013
WESTCHESTER TEMPORARY TRESTLE CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULED TO BEGIN
Work is expected to begin during the week of May 6 on the Westchester trestle, which is the first of the temporary work trestles to be constructed as part of the New NY Bridge project.
The work will include daytime pile driving to install the temporary foundation piles needed to support the platform. Pile driving will be limited to a maximum of 7:00am to 7:00pm Monday through Friday and is expected begin on Friday May 10. The trestle is a work platform that will support a crane for the construction of the easternmost 1000 feet of the new bridge. The 1000-foot long platform helps reduce the amount of dredging required and allows the crews to work from the water and not from the Westchester shoreline.
In addition, two mooring buoys will be installed in the Hudson River on the Rockland side of the channel. These will be utilized to secure work barges and will be on site for the duration of the project.
Surveying work and soil sampling for the New NY Bridge Project will continue during the week of May 6 as engineering crews conduct more design surveys at various locations in Rockland and Westchester in the vicinity of the project, including the Westchester haul road location on New York State Thruway property in Tarrytown.
Preconstruction geotechnical investigations will continue as small barge-based drilling equipment will work at various locations throughout the project footprint in the Hudson River. The crews are conducting preconstruction geotechnical surveys to determine soil conditions where future piles will be installed for the new span. Noise levels from the equipment will be at a minimum. The river-based operations will run continuously 24 hours a day Monday through Friday and possibly Saturday.
Westchester:
Limited test-boring operations will continue on land under the existing bridge and just to the north at the proposed bridge locations. These operations are being conducted on Thruway property and will not affect traffic in any way. The work is scheduled to be conducted between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday.
Rockland:
At times traffic on River Road near the South Nyack-Grand View border will be restricted to one lane during weekday daytime hours for utility investigations. Signs and flag persons will be in place to help keep traffic flowing safely.
Limited test-boring operations may start on land under the existing bridge and just to the north at the proposed bridge locations. These operations are being conducted on Thruway property and will not affect traffic in any way. The work is scheduled to be conducted between the hours of 7 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday.