Prepare for Traffic Shifts, Detours Friday P.M. to Saturday A.M. when New Westbound Span Opens

Aerial view of the Westchester landing, courtesy of New York State Thruway Authority, shows where traffic will be shifted to the new bridge this Friday night.

Per the Thruway Authority:

While multiple lane closures will begin sometime after 9 p.m. Friday, you can still drive from Westchester to Rockland via at least one lane except when stopped by state police. That won’t happen until early Saturday morning: those of you coming home from work or a night out, be advised.

That night at approximately 9 p.m., the Thruway on-ramp at Route 119 (at Exit 9) will close until Saturday at 6 a.m., per the Thruway Authority. Northbound drivers can still use that exit’s off-ramp.

There will be detour routes to direct drivers.

My suggestion if you’re already in Tarrytown or Sleepy Hollow:

Take Benedict Avenue at South Broadway through to Route 119/White Plains Road in Greenburgh. Turn left at the light, and continue to I-87/I-287 north/west (sign is on the left).

As well, Exit 10 (South Nyack) southbound on-ramp will close at 9 p.m. and will reopen by 6 a.m. Saturday. Here’s the detour route:

“Between midnight and 5 a.m. Saturday, there will be two traffic stops, each lasting up to 20 minutes, of all four lanes of the northbound/westbound Thruway. The traffic stops will allow Thruway Authority and Tappan Zee Constructors workers to stage operations, stripe lanes at both ends of the bridge and shift barriers and equipment.

To ensure the public’s safety, State Police will stop and hold all traffic. The first traffic stop will take place near Exit 9 in Tarrytown. A second traffic stop will occur a few hours later near Exit 10 in South Nyack.”

Come 8 a.m. Saturday, there will be four lanes of traffic on the new westbound span and four lanes of traffic on the current bridge. Eastbound traffic will shift to the new westbound span this fall.

One pet peeve is drivers who do NOT stay within the solid white lines. This is an active construction site, folks; safety rules are in place and strictly enforced for motorists. That means stay within the 45 miles-per-hour speed limit and do not cross a solid white line, which is solid for a reason.

The Thruway Authority’s press release about the overnight traffic shift is here.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

Watching from Afar as Opening Date Nears

Eastern side of current and new bridges from a third–floor window/© Janie Rosman 2017

I promised her I wouldn’t post the picture online. That doesn’t prevent me from telling you how excited I was to see mom stand on both legs with help from two physical therapists yesterday. It was a shining moment for me in the past few weeks of stress and advocating and worry and fear.

Yesterday afternoon I observed her hour in the rehab center, where they worked her arm muscles during the past months. She was non-weight-bearing until recently, when I was instructed to buy her shoes one or two widths larger than what she usually wears (to accommodate her temporarily-swollen right foot on the surgery leg) and socks.

We had plans for the summer that included driving upstate to her favorite “far away” diner and viewing the project from Memorial Park in Nyack and RiverWalk Park in Tarrytown. I’m going to ask the van driver to stop near the water after her check-up in two weeks.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

Road being Readied; Thruway Facility Underway

Start of Thruway Authority facility at the Westchester shared use path landing/NYSTA

Seven days left for motorists to drive westbound on the Tappan Zee Bridge. As crews ready the roadway for the August 25 overnight shift, they will stripe the westbound span’s traffic lanes and landings.

Because you have to watch out for motorists who cross the solid white lines on the current bridge’s approach spans you may have missed seeing progress on the maintenance facility in Tarrytown.

Project officials report crews are installing the exterior (phase three). Phase one was pouring reinforced concrete, and phase two was installing structural steel. The first photo is what it looked like months ago, and the above photo shows a current view looking east. Photo courtesy of New York State Thruway Authority.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

Trespassers: Stupid, Brash, Lucky and Arrested

So these three kids set out on an adventure . . . they thought. What they did was endanger themselves. Someone said teenagers do stupid things. Not all teens. These kids, yes.

The first span opens in less than two weeks, and we’re all wondering what the new drive will be like. I watched the YouTube video, my hand over my mouth many times as I recognized views, many dangerous, I’d seen in project photos. Photo above courtesy of New York State Thruway Authority.

It made me appreciate all the more the crews who are working on this project.

They were stupid, brash, and lucky none of them slipped, fell or was seriously hurt. At the nursing facility where mom is recuperating from a broken leg, the elevators have alarms to alert the staff when someone who is not supposed to be without an escort tries to get on. It locks, and a member of the staff has to push a code to release the door.

I thought alarms or similar securities monitor the project site. Then again, who thought anyone would trespass and enter this dangerous construction area for a pre-dawn prank?

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017

Crews readying New Span for Traffic Shift

Yesterday’s story in the Rockland County Times posted prior to these new photos of crews paving the westbound span in preparation for rubber meeting the road two weeks from tonight. Photos courtesy of New York State Thruway Authority.

“There’s a lot of new work in Rockland,” one nurse, who lives in Monsey and works at mom’s facility, told me, referring to what she saw at that landing. Work on both landings includes preparing slot drains, temporary barriers and striping.

Final driving surface prep will be completed this week.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2017