First span of Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in New York opens

August 25, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

One down, one to go for the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge - formerly the Tappan Zee Bridge

The first span of the 5km twin-span Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge - formerly the Tappan Zee Bridge - in New York opened August 25.

Tappan Zee Constructors, joint venture led by Fluor and including American Bridge, Granite and Taylor Bros., shift all four lanes of westbound traffic from the existing bridge to the new span overnight.

The four eastbound lanes will be shifted onto the new span in the autumn. Demolition of the old bridge can then get underway, allowing more room for construction of the adjacent second new span, said Hans Dekker, president of Fluor’s infrastructure business.

“We are proud of the Fluor-led joint venture team for advancing this landmark megaproject and look forward to building on this milestone to complete the second span next year,” said Dekker.

The client, New York State Thruway Authority, started building the cable-stayed bridge across the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland counties in late 2013. When finished next year, it will be the largest bridge in New York State history.

The cable-stayed main span is supported by eight 128m towers, which stand at 5° angles and feature a sleek, chamfered design. The iconic towers support 192 stay cables, which are made up of nearly 7,900km of steel strands.

In final configuration, the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge will carry eight general traffic lanes - four each on the westbound and eastbound spans - breakdown/emergency lanes, space for future bus rapid transit and commuter rail and an advanced traffic monitoring system.

Road Structures

New York’s new bridge opens

The second span of the New York’s new cable-stayed bridge has now been completed and has opened to traffic. The final span of the Governor Mario M Cuomo Bridge, which replaced the Tappan Zee Bridge, has now been opened to drivers. The opening was delayed slightly due to concerns over the state of a section of the old bridge, now being demolished. The new link was constructed by a joint venture headed by Fluor. With the new bridge opening, all four lanes of eastbound traffic shifted to the new second span. T

December 16, 2016

New NY Bridge - Tappan Zee - main span towers poured

One of the largest US infrastructure projects is nearer completion after recent topping out of the eight main span towers of the New NY Bridge. The final concrete pour was in mid-December and all piles - more than 1,000 - have been installed in Hudson River. To date, 3,000 roadway panels for the approaches - making 5.5km in length - have been installed, according to the New York State Thruway Authority, owner of the New NY Bridge project. The New NY Bridge, also called the Tappan Zee Bridge, is on tra

Concrete sections being placed on approach road girders

June 25, 2015

I Lift NY crane places first girder on New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge

One of the world’s largest cranes has placed the first steel girder assembly for the approach span of the new NY Bridge, often called the Tappen Zee Bridge in New York. The barge-mounted I Lift NY super crane with its nearly 100m boom slowly picked up the 125m unit from its delivery barge and gently lowered it onto concrete pedestals in the Hudson River, near the Rockland County side of the bridge. The super crane will install even larger sections of the new bridge, some of which weigh around 907tonne

January 11, 2016

New York governor aims to freeze Thruway tolls, including Tappaen Zee Bridge

The governor of the US state New York, Andrew Cuomo, said he wants to spend US$22 billion over the next five year on maintaining aging roads and bridges. Cuomo also wants to give the agency responsible for maintaining the state’s major cross-state tolled freeway, the 920km Thruway, $1 billion so the agency – New York State Thruway Authority - can freeze tolls at their current rate until 2020. US media reported that his plan would also eliminate tolls for agricultural traffic. He would also offer a t

January 17, 2019

Tappan Zee takedown into the Hudson River

A controlled explosion demolished the eastern span of the old cantilever Tappan Zee Bridge across the Hudson River near New York City. The bridge, nearly 5km long, was opened in 1955 to carry traffic between the southern New England area and other regions west of the Hudson. Around 140,000 vehicles used the bridge daily. But the old bridge had deteriorated substantially and would have been too expensive to maintain or keep open for lighter traffic use. It became redundant after the new bridge of the

January 6, 2015

Bentley’s Be Inspired Awards highlight innovation in software use

Innovation, from design to on-site execution, is alive and well, thanks to a good helping of software application. David Arminas reports from software developer Bentley’s annual global conference, held this year in London Successful project delivery is increasingly about hard men and women using software to get the job done and this year’s global conference in London by US-based software developer Bentley highlighted some innovative - and startling - examples. As usual, the Year in Infrastructure 2014