All in a Name

A bridge idea that didn’t go over so well way back when (reported The New York Times) grew on people as time went by. And then folks talked about keeping it as a park. And took pictures last summer. To remember it. And now some (myself included) are sorta going to miss it. For different reasons. Our own reasons.

Familiar sign at the Rockland approach, and its counterpart in Westchester/Courtesy of Blair Johnson

Meantime, here’s a mystery. If I stand corrected, please tell me. Ready?

Facts as we know them: The Tappan Zee Bridge opened for traffic on December 15, 1955, and was named on February 28, 1956. On a leap year (just saying), it honored the Tappan Indians of the Lenape tribe, and was called Zee for “sea” in Dutch.

What happened in those 75 days between opening and naming?

♪ ♫ I drove on the Thruway o’er a bridge with no name ♪ ♫

More likely, it was my parents who drove upstate for vacations long before I was an eye twinkle.

Did people call it the bridge? That bridge? It? And then Governor Malcolm Wilson’s name was added in 1994. Suppose someone asked for directions across the river. “Take the Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge to exit . . . ” Did you ever say that?

Seventy-five anonymous days. Meantime, people are suggesting names for a new bridge that hasn’t been built yet. Go figure. And while no one’s making replicas of the Tappan Zee Bridge, the New NY Bridge’s design is getting lots of attention.

As will today’s final transit task force meeting at 9:30 a.m. Details here.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2014

Creative Minds at Work

Since the design was chosen, there’ve been candy, food, a 58th birthday celebration, and LEGO® bridges. And belvederes, to boot.

Checking the view from the New NY Bridge/NNYB Outreach

While no one’s making replicas of the Tappan Zee Bridge, the New NY Bridge’s design is getting lots of attention.

Creative minds at work/NNYB Outreach

I mentioned the LEGO® Build Club last week. Here’s the model up close.

Look at the figures on the northern span/NNYB Outreach

Remember how everyone braved the temps that day?

Educ. Outreach Administrator Andy O’Rourke and Special Project Advisor Brian Conybeare with LEGO® Build Club Members and children’s librarian Terry Rabideau at White Plains Public Library/Courtesy of NNYB Team Outreach

Since the design was chosen, there’ve been candy, food, a 58th birthday celebration and LEGO® bridges. What materials would you like to see the new design made from next?

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2014

Heat Wave Hits Area

Finally. YES! Bring on the 40s, maybe even the 50s, as the weather folks hinted. With temps well above freezing, Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) resumed pile driving last week, per a February 21 press release.

Sunrise Thursday during a warmer break from endlessly sub-freezing temps/EarthCam® construction camera

Did you guess allowed times are from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays; occasionally, from 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturdays? You’re right. Next week, too, geotechnical investigations on the Westchester approach will check soil and other conditions. If you’re coming home from work, or having dinner with friends, or the theater, or whatever your activity, be aware of lane closures, all from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.:

• Monday, Feb. 24, to Wednesday, Feb. 26 — southbound right lane near toll plaza
• Thursday, Feb. 27, and Friday, Feb. 28 — northbound right lane near toll plaza

Since October, temporary navigational lights marked the 600 foot-wide main channel. The U.S. Coast Guard’s revised Local Notice to Mariners details the Regulated Navigation Area (RNA) — 300 yards north and 200 yards south of the existing Tappan Zee Bridge — established in September. Both temporary and permanent piles are illuminated at night.

Activity in the river means BE EXTRA CAREFUL.

The following was highlighted:

Mariners are advised that the side channels to the east and west of the main channel are closed to vessel traffic and are advised to use only the center 600’ of the main channel to navigate in a north-south direction through the area. Additionally, mariners are strongly advised to stay clear of all construction equipment and support vessels by 1000 feet or more when transiting the area.

The Coast Guard boating safety information — excerpted and in its entirety — is listed under Boater Safety Information on the New NY Bridge website. A LNM primer is here.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2014

Spring. Soon. Please.

A quick peek at the calendar shows spring is coming. On paper. It’s a start.

Tomorrow’s a school and federal holiday . . . and marine work resumes. Weather permitting (given the onslaught of storms), Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC (TZC) once again heads for the river to continue installing foundations for the new bridge, per a February 14 press release. With it comes pile driving from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays; occasionally, from 12 noon to 7 p.m. on Saturdays.

While winter temporarily suspended river work, it didn’t stop various committees and Team Outreach. Speaking of meetings, the transit task force will formally announce its recommendations for you-know-what this month. And early hinting proved correct.

Mother Nature’s tricks were no match for the LEGO® Build Club/Courtesy of Team Outreach New NY Bridge

Meantime, I’m waxing nostalgic with a post from this blog’s early days.

There’s something calming and magical about the water. Years ago – so many years it’s not even funny, however I’ll guess 35 – friends and I would get up at the crack of dawn (whatever that means) and drive to Jones Beach. It was free to park, and we’d stay until the sun was directly overhead. Then we’d shower in our suits and drive home, happily burning as our tans settled into our skin.

We discovered Sherwood Island, and until Connecticut told us not to, we’d drive north and get our rays there. I love the water and the ocean, yet I’ve not been indulging because I’m not supposed to sit in the sun. When I did face the sky, I wore a large tee shirt over my suit and used the highest SPF lotion I could find to avoid a burn. Nothing like a tan line mid-arm to ruin a nice tee shirt-and-jeans outfit.

“Figure Sitting at RiverWalk Park”/© Janie Rosman 2013

I remember many Fourths of July watching firecracker shows on the riverfront, and picnicking and relaxing times with an aquatic backdrop. Today the river was choppy and talked back noisily after the wind both instigated the waves, and then blew a strong accompaniment. I took this picture at RiverWalk Park in Tarrytown and love the contrast of a solitary figure with the vast river and immense span, which appears to be enclosed by the tree (had it been three-dimensional).

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2014

Colorful Morning

Now you see it, now you don’t . . .

So I’m checking out the cameras to see what the river and lights from the bridge and construction barges were doing last night. The EarthCam® construction camera in Upper Grandview reported this glowing red picture below at 1:15 a.m.:

and this way cool blue view from Tarrytown five and one-half hours later:

that disappeared into gray within 60 minutes:

You know it’s dangerous under AND on the bridge, right? Per a statement from Governor Andrew Cuomo:

Drivers should stay off of road if possible, and use extreme caution if they must travel. Metropolitan Transportation Authority customers should take care when traveling and allow extra time. Monitor http://www.mta.info/ for service status throughout the day.

Check on your families, friends, and neighbors, particularly the elderly and vulnerable. Stay safe!

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2014