Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) is constructing the walls for the New York State Thruway Authority’s new maintenance facility in Tarrytown this week. The state-of-the-art building will facilitate instant access to the bridge for Thruway personnel responsible for maintenance, operations and security. The facility is expected to open in 2018. Bridge maintenance teams currently operate from a temporary facility near exit 12 in West Nyack.
Noise Wall Construction
TZC will continue to install concrete noise barrier panels along the New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) in South Nyack this week. TZC anticipates completing the structures in April. The barriers are treated with sound-absorbing material to further reduce traffic noise in the nearby community.
Structural Steel Installation
TZC is preparing to place two girder assemblies on the eastbound bridge near the Rockland landing. TZC will raise the assemblies with the project’s largest crane, dubbed I Lift NY.
The assemblies are large sections of structural steel, composed of 12-foot-tall girders. They also include infrastructure to carry communications, electrical power, water and compressed air to support bridge operations. Each section is arranged at the project’s Port of Coeymans facility in Albany County and barged directly to the project site for installation.
TZC will install 10 additional steel girder assemblies on the eastbound span in future operations, scheduled to begin later this year.
Additional work includes:
- Stay cable installation
- Anti-climb fence installation
- Deck panel installation
- Support for river-based work from the Rockland trestle
- Survey inspections on the existing bridge
- Utility work and excavation at the Westchester landings
- Pier foundation work
- Maintenance dock construction
- Bridge utilities and lighting installation
- Expansion joint operations
- Overhead gantry installation
Boater Safety
Marine units are continuing patrols to monitor the construction zone and encourage all boaters to obey the established U.S. Coast Guard safety protocols.
Periodic closures of the main navigation channel and adjacent span areas will occur due to on-going construction. Boaters are strongly encouraged to avoid the project site during these closures.
The closures are anticipated through the end of this year as project crews install new sections of structural steel and road deck panels between the towers of the new crossing. Cranes, barges and other construction equipment will occupy parts of the channel during this time.
During the closures, boaters are strongly encouraged to avoid the project site. Times and dates of the closures will appear in the U.S. Coast Guard’s weekly Notice to Mariners; on the New NY Bridge (NNYB) project’s Twitter feed (@NewNYBridge); and broadcast on Marine Radio Channel 22A.
Times and dates of the channel closures are subject to change.
TZC will be monitoring the main channel during closure hours and can be contacted via Marine Radio Channel 16 for assistance. Both TZC security personnel off-site and marine units will advise incoming boaters of the closures and direct them appropriately. TZC is also in on-going communication with the commercial shipping industry about the channel closures.
Boaters are strongly urged to use the center 600 feet of the main channel (when available) to navigate in a north-south direction with no wake at a maximum speed of five knots.
TZC has installed Private Aids to Navigation to supplement the existing channel delineation. Buoys are positioned both north and south of the bridge and consist of two green buoys to mark the west edge of the channel and two red buoys to mark the east edge. Two red navigation lights are on the north side of the new bridge to mark the limits of the shipping channel.
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. The U.S. Coast Guard also has established a safety zone encompassing all navigable waters within a 200-yard radius of the largest machine on the project, the I Lift NY super crane, legally registered with the U.S. Coast Guard as the Left Coast Lifter.
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. The Eastern RNA will be extremely active and vessels transitioning to and from the eastern shoreline at Tarrytown should approach and depart to the north. The Western RNA will be impassable at times and mariners should stay clear of the area.
Mariners also should be aware that TZC will continue work in the vicinity of the side channels under the existing bridge. Mariners are advised to stay clear of all overhead work and maintain a safe distance of 1,000 feet from all construction equipment and support vessels. In addition, all bridge piers and abutments are protected by a 25-yard security zone.
The 600-foot navigation channel under the main span of the existing bridge remains lit per U.S. Coast Guard permit requirements, as are all moorings, barges and other equipment. All mariners should consult the latest USCG Local Notice to Mariners before transiting this area.
More New NY Bridge boater safety information, including the U.S. Coast Guard Notice to Mariners and construction site map can be found at NewNYBridge.com/Boater. The page includes an interactive GPS map showing vessel locations on the Hudson River, detailing which vessels are stopped and which are in motion to a new location, for recreational and commercial boaters to get current information on the very active construction zone. The vessel tracking map is for informational purposes and not intended for navigation.
The New York State Thruway Authority provides this information as a public service. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. Nothing in these guidelines shall supersede the actual construction conditions, and regulations set forth by the U.S. Coast Guard.
