For immediate release: September 5, 2014
UPDATED: VIEWING PLATFORMS TAKE SHAPE AS CONSTRUCTION CONTINUES ON THE NEW NY BRIDGE PROJECT
Construction on the New NY Bridge viewing platform in Nyack took another step forward this past week as Nyack officials broke ground on a new fishing pier in Memorial Park. The pier will be the site of the Rockland viewing platform. The plan for the site is the result of months of collaboration between village officials and the New NY Bridge project team
Viewing platforms in Nyack and at Scenic Hudson RiverWalk Park in Tarrytown will provide residents and visitors with an unobstructed and easily accessible view of the historic project’s progress and will include spotter’s guides, informational signs and high tech binoculars.
The installation of the new bridge’s pile caps will continue the week of Sept. 8. The caps, which cover the foundation piles installed in the river, are large hollow tubs that are fabricated offsite. The forms weigh several hundred tons and are barged to the project site for installation. Once in place, they are filled with reinforcing steel and concrete.
Construction will continue in the Hudson River as crews place the foundation for the New NY Bridge. Work will include pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Monday through Friday and 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturday.
A second shift of workers will also continue pile welding, pile cleanout and concrete placement operations associated with permanent foundations.
TZC will also continue construction on the new bridge’s Westchester landing, drilling holes into the bedrock for the foundation. This drilling process will produce less noise than the impact pile driving alternative, and TZC has installed sound mitigation to further reduce noise levels for the eight-week operation. The work will continue to the new westbound abutment in Westchester over the next few weeks.
Sheet pile installation at the Rockland landing is complete at this time. The sheet piles will allow TZC to excavate soil in that location and construct the westbound landing for the new bridge.
Work will continue on the Rockland work trestle near the shoreline, including pile driving and cofferdam installation. The trestle will support equipment used for the construction of the westernmost section of the new bridge.
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 five 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 this very active construction zone. The GPS tracking map is for informational purposes and not intended for navigation.
Mariners 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.
Lane Closures for New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287):
| Monday | Sept 08 | Northbound, Left Lane near Exit 9 | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Tuesday | Sept 09 | Northbound, Left Lane near Exit 9 | 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Wednesday | Sept 10 | Southbound, Right Lane near Exit 9 | 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
Ongoing Operations:
- Permanent pile installation, including pile driving between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays, and between noon and 7 p.m. on Saturdays
- Pile Cap foundation construction
- Main Span foundation construction
- Rockland Landing construction
- Westchester landing construction
- River Road utility work
- Rockland trestle construction, including pile driving
- Survey inspections on existing bridge
- Support for river-based work from the Rockland trestle