Tappan Zee Bridge (1955–2017)
| Tappan Zee Bridge | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Coordinates | 41°04′12″N 73°53′28″W / 41.07000°N 73.89111°WCoordinates: 41°04′12″N 73°53′28″W / 41.07000°N 73.89111°W |
| Carries | 7 lanes (3 northbound/westbound, 3 southbound/eastbound, 1 reversible) of    I-87 / I-287 / New York Thruway
|
| Crosses | Hudson River and Hudson Line |
| Locale | Connecting Grand View-on-Hudson, Rockland County, New York and Tarrytown, Westchester County, New York in the Lower Hudson Valley |
| Official name | Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge |
| Maintained by | New York State Thruway Authority |
| Characteristics | |
| Design | Cantilever bridge |
| Total length | 16,013 feet (4,881 m) |
| Width | 90 feet (27 m) |
| Longest span | 1,212 feet (369 m) |
| Clearance below | 138 feet (42 m) |
| History | |
| Opened | December 15, 1955 |
| Closed | October 6, 2017 |
| Replaced by | Tappan Zee Bridge (2017–present) |
| Statistics | |
| Daily traffic | 134,947 (2010) |
The Governor Malcolm Wilson–Tappan Zee Bridge, commonly known as the Tappan Zee Bridge, was a cantilever bridge in the U.S. state of New York. It was built from 1952 to 1955 to cross the Hudson River at one of its widest points, 25 miles (40 km) north of Midtown Manhattan, from Grand View-on-Hudson to Tarrytown. As an integral conduit within the New York Metropolitan Area, the bridge connected South Nyack in Rockland County with Tarrytown in Westchester County in the Lower Hudson Valley.
Opened on December 6, 1955, the bridge was one of the primary crossings of the Hudson River north of New York City; it carried much of the traffic between southern New England and points west of the Hudson. The Tappan Zee, as well as its replacement, was the longest bridge in New York state. The total length of the bridge approached 16,013 feet (3.0328 mi; 4,881 m). The cantilever span was 1,212 feet (369 m), which provided a maximum clearance of 138 feet (42 m) over the water.
The bridge was part of the New York State Thruway mainline and carries the highway concurrency of Interstate 87 and Interstate 287. The span carried seven lanes of motor traffic. The center lane was able to be switched between eastbound and westbound traffic depending on the prevalent commuter direction; on weekdays the center lane was eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening. The switch was accomplished via a movable center barrier which was moved by a pair of barrier transfer machines. Even with the switchable lane, traffic was frequently very slow.
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Wikipedia