This Week Brings Lane Closures and a Detour

Evening drivers, take note.

Three southbound lanes of the Thruway approaching Exit 11 to just past Exit 10 will close Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday overnight as work continues on the electronic toll gantry near Exit 10. See chart below.

Note: access to the Thruway southbound will be via Route 59 in Nyack both Thursday and Friday from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. while the Exit 10 on-ramp is temporarily closed due to AETC installation.

Check here for the complete list of project activities.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2015

Progress at the Tappan Zee Bridge Project

By Phil Benza, Chief Marketing Officer at County Fabricators, LLC

(August 24) Another set of girder alignment mechanisms getting ready to leave our fabrication facility this morning after it was signed off by our QA/QC personnel. This device is used to align the main girders at the new Tappan Zee.

Getting ready to leave the company’s Pleasantville site/Photo: County Fabricators, LLC

Great progress is being made each and every day.

Take a ride over the old bridge, and you will see the Left Coast Lifter (I Lift NY) in action. Better yet, there are viewing areas set up off the bridge so people can watch the bridge being built.

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(June 25) In this photo notice the three White Girder Mechanisms made by County Fabricators, which allow for the precise alignment of the super structure girders. Also, if you look to the far right of the photo you will see the electrical conduits support ladders also made by county Fabricators.

View of one girder assembly atop two piers/Photo: New York State Thruway Authority

I’m proud of my company and its elite team of employees focused on quality fabrication, on-time delivery and total focus on our clients needs. “When the customer says jump, we ask how high!!!”

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2015

Random Photos have a Blog Post of their Own

Each media boat trip and visit to the viewing area and Outreach Centers yield lots of pictures. Today I decided to post scenes that prompted me to click the shutter.

Cross section of concrete pier: immense compared to the leaning ladder/© J Rosman 2015

Here’s one of the sights en route to watching the first girder assembly placement.

Rockland abutment: a crane sits where the road will be when finished./© J Rosman 2015

The day the police barracks in Tarrytown were demolished was cold for April. Brr!

Tarrytown, where abutment for westbound span is being constructed./© J Rosman 2015

“Safety Sam” and “Project at a Glance” information panels at Outreach Centers.

Dressed for safety in Tarrytown Outreach: gear, hat, goggles, boots/NNYB Outreach

The project recently rounded its half-way mark (31 months) and is 44 percent complete as of two weeks ago. I’ll continue to post random photos now and again.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2015

On the Road: Breathtaking Views & Endless Exits

Woodbury Commons was once a project: mom and I would make a day of it, going to specific outlet stores and coming home with shopping bags full after a successful day. Same for a trip to Stew Leonard’s (Norwalk): we thought nothing of tackling I-95 and timed it perfectly so we’d get back before dinner time. Except when we got stuck in holiday traffic. That’s another story.

Until recently I was able to estimate my trips to Rockland County — friend’s houses, meetings, my editor’s office, the Palisades Mall — with near-perfect accuracy so I was never late. Then. Came. Bridge and Bridge-Related. Work.

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Yesterday’s visit with a friend included a driving adventure (“How soon will I get there?” versus “Do I want to stop now or wait?”), a math equation (“If I’m at this exit number, then I have X number of exits to go.”) and magnificent views (the Catskill Mountains are spectacular).

Because there was no westbound bridge traffic at 10:30 a.m. the three-plus miles to Rockland from Tarrytown were quick. Bumpers didn’t start meeting until a little before Exit 12; driving back around 5 p.m. the congestion began near Exit 14B.

The view changed at that point from going to the country to being in the country. It always happened: mountains loomed lush and green, and the road opened.

How long I’m in the car seems relative to other destinations: the drive to Suffern or to Exit 16 is a hop, skip and jump unlike Route 17 from Harriman to Sullivan County. It doesn’t count years-ago trips to Exit 18 (New Paltz) when I was a reporter for an Ulster County newspaper.

Who decided to make the exits so far apart? Why not have more exits closer together? It was tease to see signs for several exits one or two miles apart and then see a sign telling me the next exit is seven miles away.

Why does the ride back seem so much quicker? In less than two hours I was nearing home, reminded again of New York State’s amazing natural beauty.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2015

Can You Find the New NY Bridge in this Picture?

Here’s an idea for the new postcards (photo credits New NY Bridge Outreach):

Pick up a handful or more at the Community Outreach Centers and address them to your friends nationally, internationally, across the street, across the river, etc., with the message: “Take a picture with the postcard and send it to . . . ”

Fessing up: It’s not my idea; I’m sharing it. Outreach Team, the rest is up to you!

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2015