| Better Bridges
Bridges That Take You to New York —
Slowly
Manhattan is, after all, an island. So
why did the city implement
work on several major bridges at once?
by Ruth W.
Stidger, Editor-in-Chief
Available federal funds that might not be there later seems to be the
answer, but commuters are less than thrilled about the ever-fewer
alternatives to finding ways to get to work.
Not all of the projects are new startups. The George Washington Bridge
$26-million ramp construction project, for example, started at the end of
1999 and was finally finished this spring.
Each of the 13 ramps was closed or narrowed in turn, to allow repairs
and repainting.
The Manhattan Bridge reconstruction started in 1982, and is currently
14 years behind schedule. Contractors will finally complete the
$500-million project early next year — or be fined $50,000 a day. Local
business owners, residents, and commuters consider it a joke at this point
and say they will believe the bridge’s completion when they see it.
What took so long? Politics slowed progress. So far as engineering
needs, corroded metal supports needed to be replaced, as did the
deteriorated deck.
The Triborough Bridge project started six years ago and will be
completed in 2007, if all goes well. The $1-billion major overhaul
includes new access ramps, a new deck, and widening of the toll plaza.
Work on the bridge’s ramps seriously hampered traffic earlier this
year. Although Triborough Bridge reconstruction was supposed to be done
one lane at a time, the contractor shut down two of the three lanes for
more than two months, slowing vehicles moving from Queens to Manhattan,
particularly during rush hours.
One project in New York is so complex that no cost figures are
currently available. The Long Island Expressway’s New York State
Department of Transportation project started four years ago and includes
rebuilding 27 bridges. Work will be completed in 2005.
In the meantime, Queens and Long Island commuters face ever-increasing
traffic jams.
Perhaps to create equal river-crossing woes for all of the boroughs,
New York City began rebuilding the Third Avenue Bridge last year.
The $118-million project will be finished in 2005.
For now, Bronx-to-New York commuters must deal with closed lanes and
creeping traffic on the bridge.
Reprinted from Better Roads Magazine
August 2003 |
