Deck Panel Installation Continues on New Span

Crews continue to set precast concrete deck panels atop the steel girders, install rebar, pour concrete and ready the driving surface of the eastbound span. This is what the westbound span looked like before its final driving surface was applied. Deck panels were interlocked via their hairpin reinforcing steel bars; the spaces between them were closed with reinforcing concrete.

They’re doing other work, too, including removing sections of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Their order is the section south of the center, a cantilever truss weighing 4,560 tons; strand jacks will then help lower the main span section closest to Westchester, an anchor span weighing 5,350 tons, onto barges. Then comes the section south of the center, followed by the section closest to Rockland.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2018

On Father’s Day: I Miss You So Much It Hurts

Dad’s not been with us for four years and four months.

Years ago I wrote about car trips with mom and dad and crossing the bridge. I talk to him, look for him in darkened rooms, hear his voice in silence, see his smile and twinkling eyes. Dad had twinkling brown eyes. That one week he rebounded, all his senses came alive.

Tuesday night he’d have asked what assignment I was working on and if other people would be with me, and he’d double-check to make sure he had my cell phone number.

He and mom would ask me to call them.

Dad wasn’t here Wednesday when I drove to Haverstraw Marina. I spoke with mom that morning and called her several times during the day. She’s 91, bless her, and had hip replacement surgery four years ago, and a partial knee replacement the following year. I’d hoped to take her to see the bridge project from RiverWalk Park and the Tarrytown viewing area.

She really wanted to see the crane and settled for seeing it from the car.

Dad would be smiling when I got home and showed him pictures of what I was looking at as it happened. I wrote in an earlier post he and mom married two months before the bridge opened. This is my fifth Father’s Day without him, and I miss him more than I did when I learned he died.

Happy Father’s Day to you and yours.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2018

Last Steel Girder Installed on Eastbound Span

Rare sight was a cargo barge heading north on the Hudson River/© Janie Rosman 2018

Let’s hear it for the cargo ship that passed our boat heading north less than half an hour after we left Haverstraw Marina. We heard these ships were seldom seen. Our luck to see one that day!

The 11-mile trip to the bridges was eventful and fun; however, things got going as we rounded Hook Mountain, and the bridges were in sight. It was “the bridges” because — although a shell of its former self — the Tappan Zee Bridge is there. A section of its main span missing was missing as it was prior to completion in the photo below, courtesy of the New York State Thruway Authority.

Its proximity to the new bridge made it difficult to photograph it from the same distance; however, it was possible to capture the same angle looking north.

Same angle: close to its end instead of approaching opening day /© Janie Rosman 2018

For everyone who wanted to see the new bridge, there were many who wanted one last look at the Tappan Zee. Crews installed the last steel girder yesterday near Rockland, so now it’s possible to walk from one county to the other on the eastbound span. Photo below courtesy of the New York State Thruway Authority.

Barge-based cranes will next dismantle section two (south of the opening), a cantilever truss weighing 4,560 tons; strand jacks will then help lower section three (closest to Westchester), an anchor span weighing 5,350 tons, onto barges. Crews will then dismantle section four (next to the opening) and lower section five (closest to Rockland).

The timetable for removing the remaining sections is unknown; however, July 20 is the last Historical Society of Rockland County boat tour.. For information, visit https://www.rocklandhistory.org.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2018

Disappearing from the River Piece by Piece

Looking as gloomy and sad as the weather, the Tappan Zee Bridge’s dissected main span glared at drivers or so it seemed. I was driving home in early afternoon after viewing the old bridge and its replacement from river level on a paddle wheeler. It was a treat made sweeter by a new hip joint that allowed me to painlessly walk around on both levels of our tour boat. And those were steep stairs!

The bridge that holds memories for many was rapidly shrinking and seemed small next to the eight main span towers and their supporting stay cables. Nearly two years ago, I penned a blog post that might have been what the bridge would have said if it could talk. The bridge. It will always be the bridge.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2018

Excited to see the New Bridge & Remaining TZB

There’s always another chance to do or see something you missed. Last month, I missed the event I’d been waiting for since last year: removal of the Tappan Zee Bridge’s center span. Lowering the piece of a five-section process was emotional for some; I was two months out of hip joint replacement surgery and felt it was unsafe to be on an unsteady surface: the Hudson River. Oh, and the foot on my surgical leg was too swollen for the steel-toed shoes.

And . . . it’s happening today! Within a few hours, I’ll be on a paddle wheeler that’s headed for the new bridge and disappearing TZB. Cloudy day? No matter.

My E-ZPass® tag hasn’t been used in months and needs exercise. I’m still walking several times each week to prepare for my trek across the shared use path, when it opens. This will also be my first trip across the new bridge in months.

Double anticipation today!

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2018