The Fort Miller Company, Inc. is creating approximately 1,000 deck panels for the new bridge.
As the New NY Bridge project begins its most intense stage of construction, one upstate business is busy manufacturing nearly 1,000 concrete deck panels for the crossing’s main span roadway.
With nearly seven decades of experience in producing precast concrete, the Fort Miller Company, Inc. is pouring the panels in a carefully-controlled environment on its 500-acre campus in Easton, NY, northeast of Albany and approximately 150 miles upriver from the project site. To handle the new bridge’s load of cars, trucks and buses, the company’s steel-reinforced concrete units meet an impressive design strength of 9,700 pounds per square inch within 14 days of being cast.
After curing, the panels will be barged down the Hudson River via the Port of Coeymans, just south of Albany, and installed atop the new bridge’s piers and girders. They are designed to interlock with one another, allowing for swift and safe installation.
In addition to fabricating the road deck panels that motorists will eventually drive upon, Fort Miller is producing additional concrete precast items for the project, including the median barrier, retaining wall units, an underpass and pavement slabs.
Precast concrete products are made with reusable molds, called forms, which can create hundreds of identical units. Not only does this process reduce cost, it ensures that every precast piece meets the highest quality standards.
“Our company thrives on the challenges, demanding specifications and high standards set forth by Tappan Zee Constructors and the Thruway,” said Josh French, a project manager for Fort Miller. “The New NY Bridge project allows our team to demonstrate our proven capabilities as we aim to exceed their expectations.”
Already a leading producer of precast concrete, Fort Miller hired additional staff to meet the enormous demands of the new bridge, which is the largest highway transportation infrastructure project in the nation. This winter, Fort Miller built a new 12,000-square-foot production facility equipped with two overhead cranes to assist with the expanded production demands. The company is utilizing local suppliers of sand, gravel, crushed stone, lumber, trucking and other items, mirroring the New NY Bridge project’s overall effort to boost economic opportunities for New York State businesses.
The partnership with Fort Miller and other fabricators will help ensure the new crossing will stand strong over the Hudson River for the next century and beyond.
