New Tappan Zee Bridge
| New Tappan Zee Bridge | |
|---|---|
Concept art showcasing the new Tappan Zee Bridge with dynamic lighting
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| Coordinates | 41°04′17″N 73°53′28″W / 41.07139°N 73.89111°WCoordinates: 41°04′17″N 73°53′28″W / 41.07139°N 73.89111°W |
| Crosses | Hudson River |
| Locale | Connecting South Nyack (Rockland County) and Tarrytown (Westchester County) |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | dual-span cable-stayed twin bridge |
| History | |
| Construction begin | 2013 |
| Construction cost | $3.9 billion (2013 project budget) |
| Opening | Mid 2017 (westbound span) Late 2017 (eastbound span) April 2018 (project completion) |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 138,000+ (2011 est) |
The new Tappan Zee Bridge (also known as the New NY Bridge) is a new, twin cable-stayed bridge being built to replace the current Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge over New York's Hudson River. Construction began in 2013, with partial opening expected in 2017 and full opening targeted for 2018.
The original Tappan Zee Bridge is a cantilever bridge built during 1952–55. The bridge is 3 miles (4.8 km) long and spans the Hudson at its second-widest point. The Tappan Zee river crossing was named by 17th century Dutch settlers. The Tappan Zee Bridge, along with the smaller Bear Mountain Bridge, are the only crossings of the Tappan Zee, a 33-mile (53 km) stretch of river that passes through New York City's populous northern suburbs.
The deteriorating current structure bears an average of 138,000 vehicles per day, substantially more traffic than its designed capacity. During its first decade, the bridge carried fewer than 40,000 vehicles per day. Part of the justification for replacing the bridge stems from its construction immediately following the Korean War on a low budget of only $81 million. Unlike other major bridges in metropolitan New York, the Tappan Zee Bridge was designed to last only 50 years. The new bridge is intended to last at least 100 years.
The collapse of Minnesota's I-35W Mississippi River bridge in 2007 raised worries about the Tappan Zee Bridge's structural integrity. These concerns, together with traffic overcapacity and increased maintenance costs, escalated the serious discussions already ongoing about replacing the Tappan Zee with a tunnel or a new bridge. Six options were identified and submitted for project study and environmental review.
The Federal Highway Administration issued a report in October 2011 designating the Tappan Zee's replacement to be a dual-span twin bridge. The new bridge is now under construction a few yards to the north of the existing bridge, and will connect to the existing highway approaches of the New York State Thruway (I-87/I-287) on both river banks. Construction began as scheduled during 2013, with completion targeted for 2017. The project now has an estimated completion date of April 2018 at a cost of $3.98 billion.
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