IMAGEs COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK STATE THRUWAY AUTHORITY.
The project team tests the westbound bridge's aesthetic lighting system.
"Painters Point" - The third of six belvederes, across the pedestrian and bike path. Its design accentuates arts and culture in the Hudson Valley.
“River Crossing” - The fourth of six belvederes, across the pedestrian and bike path. Its design highlights transportation and communication.
to raise their young before migrating south in the fall. A webcam allows viewers to observe the migratory falcons incubating eggs, feeding their young, and defending their nest (NewNYBridge.com/falcon-camera). Although a single bridge, there are two parallel crossings, taking vehicles in each direction between Westchester and Rockland counties. With one span now operational, another crossing 87 feet wide will open next year, with four lanes in each direction as well as a separate bicycle and pedestrian path. There will be transparent noise panels at either end of the path. The cable-stayed bridge will ultimately offer eight 12-foot vehicular lanes and have six belvederes for pedestrians and cyclists, each with specially-designed seating, shade structures, and interpretive panels on Hudson River history. A cable-stayed bridge is one in which the cables “stay” the bridge in place, by connecting from the edge of the deck to the angled towers to better distribute the structural load. The Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is the widest cable-stayed structure of its kind in the world, and will include state-of-the-art traffic monitoring systems as well as enhanced express bus service. Mass-transit ready, the new crossing will be able to accommodate bus rapid transit, light rail, or commuter rail. Building such an enormous structure would not be possible without the I Lift NY crane. The floating crane has a lifting arm that is taller than a 30-story building and is capable of lifting the equivalent of 12 Statues of Liberty at once. It enables pre-fabrication of huge sections of the bridge off site, saving both time and money as well as enhancing project safety and quality. The super crane previously worked on the San FranciscoOakland Bay Bridge project.
What will become of the old Tappan Zee? It will not transform into another elevated park, like the High Line or the Walkway Over the Hudson, further up, converted from an old railroad bridge, but will be carefully dismantled using the I Lift NY super crane. It is in the way of the second span, and once traffic has shifted to the first of the twin spans, the Tappan Zee will come down. But the structure’s elements will live on, according to Saeed. The steel and concrete deck panels will be repurposed or recycled. Its 133 deck panel units and moveable barriers will be transferred to state and local municipalities. “The transfer of these materials will save local municipalities millions of dollars which will help important infrastructure projects move forward with a much lower cost to local counties and towns,” says NYSTA Acting Executive Director Bill Finch. Eight municipalities and the New York State Department of Transportation have requested the transfer of deck panels, which can facilitate future infrastructure projects. Including removal and delivery, the deck panel units have an estimated value of almost $3 million. The toll for the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge will remain at $5 cash, or $4.75 E-ZPass through 2020, according to Saeed. After a season that was termed “Summer of Hell” because of stalled infrastructure improvements at Penn Station, the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is a bright spot.
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