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.