The New NY Bridge Project
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Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) recently installed the 650th concrete road deck panel for the westbound span. TZC began placing the panels in early October and is on track to install an additional 6,000 panels by year’s end. The work is occurring on top of recently-installed steel-blue girders, which continue to advance across the Hudson River.
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For immediate release: June 12, 2015
CONSTRUCTION STARTING ON NOISE BARRIERS ALONG SOUTHBOUND NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY (I-87/I-287) IN SOUTH NYACK
After months of preparation, crews will begin installing foundations for noise barriers along the southbound New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) between the South Broadway bridge and River Road. The work will involve drilling holes into the soil to install the foundations. After the foundations are installed, concrete panels that form the noise barriers will be installed. The barriers will be treated with sound-absorbing material to further reduce traffic noise to the nearby community.
Continued Overnight Triple-Lane Closures of Southbound Thruway
Weekday overnight triple-lane closures of the southbound Thruway will occur from Monday night, June 15 through Saturday morning, June 20. Closures will start at 8 p.m. with the closing of one lane near exit 11 (Nyack – South Nyack – US Route 9W) to the Tappan Zee Bridge, followed by a second lane at 9 p.m. and a third at 11 p.m. All lanes will reopen by 6 a.m. the following weekday. The closures on Friday, June 19 will start with a single lane at 9 p.m., a second lane at 11 p.m. and a third at 11:59 p.m. All lanes will reopen by 8 a.m., Saturday, June 20.
Triple-lane closures of the southbound Thruway in the same area also are planned for the overnight of Saturday, June 13, with a single lane closing at 7 p.m., followed by a second lane at 11 p.m. and a third at 1 a.m., Sunday, June 14. All lanes will reopen by 11 a.m., Sunday, June 14.
All planned work is subject to postponement due to weather conditions.
Single-Lane Closures of Northbound Thruway During Morning Commuting Periods on June 18 and 19
Single-lane closures of the northbound Thruway will occur on Thursday, June 18 and Friday, June 19. The closures will start at 5 a.m. near the Tappan Zee Bridge to exit 11 (Nyack – South Nyack – US Route 9W). The lane will reopen by 2 p.m. both days.
River Road in South Nyack
River Road utility work will continue during the week of June 15. The work may require reducing River Road to one lane at times. TZC flag persons will direct traffic as needed and additional signage as well as other safety measures will be in place.
Foundation Work on the New Bridge
Marine crews are continuing work on bridge foundations next week by placing reinforcing steel and concrete in the piles, main span pile caps and approach span pile caps. The high-strength concrete is made on site by the projects floating batch plants. Teams also will erect formwork for the cast-in-place pier columns, which eventually will support the new bridges road deck.
Crews also will continue working on the bridges landings at the Rockland and Westchester shorelines. The abutments, comprised of steel and concrete, will serve as strong bases where the new crossing meets the landside roadway.
Construction of pier 1 located near River Road in South Nyack will continue with the installation of sheet piles. The sheet piles support the surrounding soil while the foundation for the new bridge pier is constructed. Pile driving is restricted to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and noon to 7 p.m., Saturday. TZC is implementing noise-reducing measures, including sound-absorptive temporary noise barriers, to protect nearby residents. The projects environmental compliance team will be on site to monitor noise levels during the operation.
Additionally, TZC will continue concrete placement for bridge foundations near the South Nyack shoreline. The concrete for this work is being acquired from local concrete suppliers and is delivered by truck to the Rockland trestle located off the Thruways southbound access ramp. Trucks 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.
Additional work includes:
Boater Safety
During the summer months, Westchester and Rockland Marine Units will add extra patrols to monitor the construction zone and encourage all boaters to obey the established U.S. Coast Guard safety protocols.
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 the 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/ for real-time information regarding traffic conditions.
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TARRYTOWN – With the new Tappan Zee Bridge taking shape behind him, President Barack Obama on Wednesday urged Congress to inject billions of dollars in the nation’s transportation infrastructure to keep Americans working and encourage businesses to stay.
During his first visit to Westchester as president, Obama praised the progress on the new $3.9 billion crossing, which is replacing the 58-year-old crumbling structure.
“It carries a lot more traffic than when it was built back in 1955,” Obama said under sunny skies at Sunset Cove, a restaurant at the Washington Irving Boat Club. “At times, you can see the river through the cracks in the pavement. Now, I’m not an engineer, but I figure that’s not good.”
Highlights from President Obama’s speech on the country’s infrastructure at near the Tappan Zee Bridge in Tarrytown. (Video by Peter Carr/The Journal News)
He noted the new Tappan Zee will be the first new bridge in New York in 50 years and announced the federal government plans to apply the same “fast track” process to 11 other infrastructure projects, including Boston’s South Station and light rail around Seattle.
“Normally it would have taken three to five years to permit this bridge,” Obama said during his 10-minute speech. “We did it in a year and a half.”
He also called out congressional Republicans for blocking funding that would pay for modern highways, bridges and seaports.”We’ve got more than 100,000 bridges that are old enough to qualify for Medicare,” Obama said.Officials have warned that funding in the federal Highway Trust Fund is set to run out by the fall, which would put 112,000 active road and bridge projects and 5,600 transit projects at risk, along with nearly 700,000 jobs.”That’s like the population of Tampa and St. Louis combined,” the president said, citing the jobs figure.
“So far at least Republicans who run this Congress seem to have a different priority,” Obama said. “Rebuilding America — that shouldn’t be a partisan issue.”
Obama emphasized that “there is work to be done.”
“So the bottom line, Tarrytown, is America doesn’t stand still. … So I’m going to keep on fighting alongside all of you to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to rebuild America – not just rebuild one bridge, but I want us to rebuild every bridge. I don’t want us to just rebuild one school, I want us to rebuild every school that needs help.”
Under New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state approved a process that allows infrastructure project to be designed while construction begins.
Cuomo, who introduced the president, has been praised for reviving the project, which had been stagnating for nearly a decade. It’s now in its second year of construction with completion projected for 2018.
With preparations in place for President Obama’s visit to the TZ Bridge construction site, minority construction workers protest about being shut out of major construction projects. (Video by Joe Larese/ The Journal News)
“We are the state of the bold. We are the state of the daring,” Cuomo said. “We are the state of performance. We are the state of skyscrapers, intricate transit systems. We are the state of public works that challenge the imagination.”
Also in attendance, seated to the back, was Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, the Republican who is planning to challenge Cuomo this fall. He criticized the governor before the speech for not discussing the cost of future tolls.
“The public has a right to know before the election,” Astorino said. “They know what it’s going to be. They promised last year we would have answers.”
Astorino accused the governor’s staff of refusing to allow him to sit in the front. Cuomo’s office, however, denied it meddled with the seating chart. An official who attended the speech said Astorino spent more than an hour talking with reporters and that by the time he tried to claim a seat, the choice ones were taken.
But all eyes were on the president who wore a crisp dark suit and dark blue tie against a background of construction equipment and steel piles. Obama joked and shook hands with many of the 250 people who were invited to attend, including elected officials, construction workers and residents.
Chris Junge of Tarrytown brought his two children, Tucker, 8, and Cassie, 6. The family walked from home to the event.
“It was exciting to be that close. It was personal,” Junge said. “It was a long day for them but I think they will remember it.”
Arriving at John F. Kennedy International, Obama flew aboard Marine One to Tarrytown. He traveled by motorcade the short distance to the marina. Less than 30 minutes after he arrived, Obama was back off to New York City to attend two Democratic party fundraisers in the evening.
Reporter Brian Tumulty contributed to this story.
Twitter: @ksaeed1
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/tappan-zee-bridge/2014/05/14/obamas-tappan-zee-bridge-speech-set-mid-afternoon/9080115/
Building a New Bridge!
This video graphic illustrates how a new cable-stayed bridge across the Hudson River north of New York City will replace the 60-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge between Rockland and Westchester Counties.
For immediate release: August 23, 2013
Work is scheduled to begin the week of August 26 on the Rockland trestle, which is the second temporary work platform 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 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and, occasionally, on Saturdays from 12 noon to 7 p.m. The trestle is a work platform that will eventually 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 near the Rockland shoreline
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. This work will be performed from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays and, occasionally, 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.
Beginning Monday, August 26 through Wednesday, August 28, one northbound right hand lane and shoulder on I-87/I-287 between the existing Tappan Zee Bridge and Interchange 11 in Nyack will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for the installation of concrete traffic barriers to delineate traffic from the construction zone to ensure safety for traveling public and work crews.
Additional geotechnical borings to support design will be conducted on the river at various locations. Operations will run 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
Tappan Zee Constructors (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 24/7 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 be installing temporary noise barriers along the right of way adjacent to I-87/I-287 near Ferris Lane. Fencing and sidewalk work will continue 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.
LoHud June 5, 2013 Written by Theresa Juva-Brown
From a giant crane hoisting steel beams to workers tightening bolts on an emerging platform in the river, the site of the new Tappan Zee Bridge was bustling with activity on Tuesday.
To promote the $3.9 billion bridge replacement, project officials took about a dozen members of the media on the river to see construction preparations. Leaders from Tappan Zee Constructors — the team designing and building the new bridge — and the Thruway Authority led the tour on a tugboat suitably named Tappan Zee II.
“This project is progressing and you’re going to see it ramp up over the next several months to the next year,” said Brian Conybeare, a special adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “More and more equipment arrives almost daily for this pre-construction work.”
The twin span is set to be completed by April 2018. Crews have just wrapped up test borings of the river’s soil and plan to start test pile-driving next month. Pile-driving tests are necessary to ensure that when permanent supports are installed, they are strong enough to hold the new span.
By the middle of next year, close to 100 work barges will fill the river, with about 30 of them being used to hold giant cranes, officials said.
There are about a dozen barges in the river now, with each dedicated to specific tasks. For example, one team is currently setting up vibration monitoring equipment on the existing bridge, while another is focused on building a 1,000-foot platform off the Tarrytown shore. When completed, the temporary trestle, which won’t be attached to the shore, will house a crane for construction.
“The new northern span will be right over our heads,” Conybeare shouted as the tugboat chugged parallel to the existing bridge on its way to the trestle location.
At the site, a 300-ton crane on a barge slowly lifted a hydraulic power unit that operates a vibratory hammer.
The hammer vibrates piles into the river bed, a technique that is less noisy than pounding them in, officials said.
In addition to the Westchester trestle, crews plan to build a similar one off the Rockland shore, though that one will stretch about 1,300 feet, Conybeare said.
Click here to watch the progress on The New NY Bridge:
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013306040075
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.
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.
April 30, 2013 Lohud ; Author Alex Taylor
NYACK — A proposed $19 million boutique hotel on High Avenue came one step closer to reality after the Nyack Zoning Board of Appeals on Monday issued zoning variances for the project.
The developer, WY Management LLC, had sought the village’s approval to convert a vacant manufacturing facility at 400 High Ave. into a 132-room hotel with a steakhouse, radio station and conference center.
The variance was needed to add two floors to the existing structure: a two-story, 40,000-square-foot corrugated metal building next to Oak Hill Cemetery and Exit 11 of the New York State Thruway.
Because the area is zoned as a manufacturing district, a special permit was also needed, officials said.
“Our land use board has done its usual good work,” Nyack Mayor Jen Laird-White said Tuesday. “A great idea looks like it may be coming to fruition as a great project.”
Michael Yanko and Kerry Wellington, co-owners of WY Management, declined to comment Tuesday.
Once built, the hotel will be managed by Nylo Hotels, a boutique chain with hotels in Texas and Rhode Island, with another planned for New York.
Architectural renderings of 400 High Ave. show a stylish, loft-like design, including brick and glass siding and extensive outdoor landscaping. In addition to the 184-seat restaurant, the hotel will feature a bar and fitness center.
The site was formerly occupied by Stoffel Seals Corp., a plastics
and metal manufacturer that relocated to Congers about five years ago. WY Management bought the property for a reported $4.2 million.
A Best Western — the only other hotel in the village — is a block away on Polhemus Street.
The village Planning Board will meet Monday to vote on final site approval — the last step before construction.
“Once the Planning Board gives a final they can commence the building permit process for construction,” Nyack Village Attorney Walter Sevastian said. “They’re getting close.”
The hotel is expected to open late 2014, according to the developer’s website.
Earlier this year, the Rockland County Industrial Development Agency approved exemptions on the sales and mortgage recording tax to help the project. Developers are also negotiating a payment in lieu of taxes on the site.
WY Management recently opened an office at 79 Main St. in Nyack. The developer also is converting the former MetLifeFinancial Services Building in Broxville into multifamily apartments.
