Photo credit: New York State Thruway AuthorityConstruction of the new $3.9 billion Tappan Zee Bridge is entering its fourth year. “There’s a lot of good progress,’’ Jamey Barbas, the New York State Thruway Authority’s project director, told the board during an update report on Dec. 5, the recordonline.com reports.
According to the news agency, Barbas told the board that the eight, 419-foot signature towers of the superstructure will be completed within a few weeks and that more than half of the 7,000 deck panels had been installed. She added that the remaining deck panels in the center of the bridge will be replaced at the same time the 132 remaining cable stays are strung between the towers and the deck to support the roadway.
However, a timetable has not been set for when traffic will move to the new bridge’s westbound span so that the old bridge can be demolished in order to complete the eastbound span of the new bridge.
Dan Marcy, a member of the authority’s community outreach staff for the project, told the board that Tappan Zee Constructors has spent or committed $2.26 billion to the project as of Dec. 5. Approximately $1 billion went to the 1,697 subcontractors, 729 of which are based in New York state; $807 million was spent on construction materials; and $453 million was used for indirect expenses, such as insurance.
“We are on budget and on schedule,’’ Barbas told the board, according to news report.
The New York State Thruway Authority time-lapse video below shows construction of some of the new bridge’s signature towers.
