ROCKLAND BULKHEAD CONSTRUCTION TO BEGIN–TEST PILE PROGRAM CONTINUES

July 19, 2013 by

update

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE; JULY 19, 2013

Construction of the Rockland Bulkhead will begin next week as crews enlarge the work platform in the New York State Thruway Authority’s Rockland maintenance area located on River Road in South Nyack.

The bulkhead will be part of the Thruway’s permanent dock and serve as the access point for Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC’s (TZC) Rockland trestle.  The trestle is the support platform that will allow TZC to build the foundations for the new bridge near the Rockland shoreline without dredging in that area.  TZC will utilize the bulkhead for support of construction throughout the entire project.

Orange and Rockland Utilities will install new utility poles near River Road in South Nyack to support utility relocations which are needed for the New NY Bridge project. These operations may require temporary lane closures and will be performed by the utility.

Test pile driving operations will be conducted over the next three months at proposed locations for pile foundations.  The test pile program will verify subsurface conditions in preparation for the construction of the bridge’s permanent foundation.

Multiple crews will conduct night time boring operations along I-87/I-287 in both directions in Westchester and Rockland Counties.  The night time operations are necessary due to lane closure restrictions during day time hours that are in place to keep traffic flowing over the current bridge. Boring operations began at exit 10 in Rockland County and continue to move west into Westchester County and then back to Rockland for one final boring location.

Ongoing operations:
– Temporary Westchester trestle construction including pile driving on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 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
– Extension of Thruway’s Rockland maintenance dock

Westchester:
Night time boring operations to investigate subsurface soil conditions will be conducted in the southbound shoulder of I-87/I-287and will require a temporary right lane closure between the existing bridge and exit 9 on Tuesday, July 23, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.  Northbound lane closures will be required from exit 9 to the existing bridge on Wednesday, July 24, and from exit 9 to exit 11 in Rockland County on Thursday, July 25, and Friday, July 26. from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Rockland:
Night time boring operations to investigate subsurface soil conditions will be conducted in the southbound shoulder of I-87/I-287 and will require a temporary right lane closure between exit 10 and the existing bridge on Monday, July 22, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

VOTING SHOWS MAJORITY FAVOR NOISE BARRIERS FOR THE NEW NY BRIDGE

July 19, 2013 by

update

Project Update

For immediate release: July 19, 2013

Last month, the New York State Thruway Authority, the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) invited local residents tovote on the placement of proposed noise barriers for the New NY Bridge Project.

“The public has spoken and they overwhelmingly support the construction of sound reducing traffic noise barriers as part of the New NY Bridge Project,” said Brian Conybeare, Governor Cuomo’s Special Adviser for the New NY Bridge Project. “This is another way we trying to make this the most inclusive and transparent infrastructure project in the history of the state. We will continue to include input from local residents and other stakeholders as the project moves forward.”

Noise barriers are recommended as a form of traffic noise abatement only if they are determined to be both feasible and reasonable. According to Thruway and NYSDOT noise policies, as well as FHWA noise regulations, once a noise barrier is deemed both feasible and reasonable, ‘benefited receptors’, defined as property owners and/or residents of properties that would receive at least a five decibel reduction in noise level as a result of the proposed noise barriers, have an opportunity to cast a vote either for or against its construction.

Public meetings were held in both Westchester and Rockland counties during the week of June 23. At the meetings, Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC explained the locations and heights of the proposed walls for the areas that met the noise mitigation requirements, along with any possible aesthetic preferences.

The voting results show the benefitted receptors overwhelmingly favor having noise barriers constructed as part of the New NY Bridge project. Overall, 306 ballots were sent to benefited receptors. The tabulated results from the vote appear below:

Barrier

Votes For

Votes Against

Results

Westchester East Sound Barrier

87

1

98% FOR BARRIER

Westchester West Sound Barrier

2

0

100% FOR BARRIER

Rockland North Sound Barrier

96

5

95% FOR BARRIER

Rockland South Sound Barrier

31

2

94% FOR BARRIER

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Residents will vote on Tappan Zee Bridge noise barriers

June 28, 2013 by

LoHud June 27, 2013 Written By Khurrum Saeed

http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013306270071

TZC

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.

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Neighboring community takes sound-proofing offer; 2 more complexes consider funds to mitigate noise

June 26, 2013 by

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

 

Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

STATE-OF-THE-ART ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING SYSTEM ONLINE FOR TZ BRIDGE

May 10, 2013 by

For immediate release: May 10, 2013
Contact: Dan Weiller (518) 471-5300

Residents kept informed by noise, vibration and air quality monitors
as first pile driving begins on a temporary work platform

As work begins on a temporary Westchester work platform for the New NY Bridge, residents will be kept informed by a first-of-its kind environmental monitoring system with results publicly posted on the internet.

“We are empowering people with information and keeping them up to date on what’s happening with this vital project,” said Thruway Authority Executive Director Thomas Madison. “We are taking unprecedented measures to mitigate noise, vibration and air quality issues and the monitoring system that is now on our website is a major part of that effort.”

As soon as Friday, May 10, Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) will begin daytime pile driving work to install the temporary foundation needed to support a trestle in the Hudson River on Thruway Authority property just north of the current bridge in Tarrytown.   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, which will be dismantled when the bridge is complete, helps reduce the amount of dredging required in the Hudson and allows the crews to work from the water and not from the Westchester shoreline.

TZC has installed highly sophisticated monitoring devices at locations near the project site in Westchester. These devices will record the level of sound, vibration and air quality and the data will be available to the public online at www.newnybridge.com as part of the New York State Thruway Authority’s commitment to openness and transparency.

Environmental requirements limit pile driving and other loud construction activities to a maximum of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. There will be no pile driving done on the weekends.

Because the soil under the river is so soft, the pilings will be installed using the vibration technique for the most part.  Vibratory pile driving is much quieter than impact pile driving and will be less intrusive for nearby residents.  Short duration impact pile driving will be used to set the piles into bedrock.  TZC will also use sound mitigating shrouds and other techniques to reduce the noise levels involved.

The EPCs are intended to monitor, minimize and mitigate potential adverse effects related to construction noise, vibration and air quality associated with the project.  In addition to the monitoring systems and specialized pile driving techniques, the Thruway Authority is requiring many other mitigation measures including state-of-the-art controls to limit dust and emissions and receiving deliveries of equipment and supplies mostly by barge, rather than truck.

Construction of the temporary Westchester trestle is expected to last several months.  Construction of a similar work platform on Thruway property near the Rockland County shoreline is expected to begin in July.

For a direct link to the data from the monitors go to: http://newnybridgegallery.com/noise/

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Filed Under: Governor Cuomo, Tappan Zee Bridge Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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