Reprint: Tragedy for Tappan Zee Bridge Project

Originally posted by Mai Armstrong for the Working Harbor Committee.

Clear view of twin spans parallel to Tappan Zee Bridge/EarthCam® construction camera

More tragedy has hit the Tappan Zee Bridge Replacement Project.

Tappan Zee Constructors tugboat Captain Ed Smith suffered a medical emergency while towing a construction barge in high winds and rough waters last night near Haverstraw.

Tappan Zee Constructors’ tugboat Pilgrim is courtesy Rockland County Sheriff’s Office

Responding Rockland County Sheriff marine units found crew performing CPR on the unresponsive captain. Captain Smith was transported to Nyack Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 50 years old. Read more from Hudson Valley News Network here.

With heavy hearts we offer our thoughts and prayers to his family. Fair winds and following seas, captain.

Reprinted with permission.

Time Travel Tuesday: Wordless & Saying Volumes

Spring after the project started: “Figure Sitting at RiverWalk Park”/© J. Rosman 2013

While it didn’t become the Photo of the Day cover for either News 12 Westchester or News 12 Hudson Valley, “Figure Sitting at RiverWalk Park” remains one of my favorite pictures.

I remember that day nearly three years ago: driving home after visiting a friend I continued on Route 9 through the villages to Tarrytown. Walking along the path I thought about the view that I’d never see again and took in the peaceful end to a busy day.

The person sitting on the rocks didn’t see me take the picture with him in it.

Amid the construction and lane closures and activity it reminds me of a quieter time on the river, much like the person standing here must have felt more than six, maybe seven, decades earlier.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2016

Something Old, Something New and Missing Views

Three of the four main span towers rising via the aid of blue jump forms/© J Rosman 2016

It’s been a few weeks since I drove across the bridge yet not so long that sights were unfamiliar. I saw the large area where the police barracks and maintenance facility used to be in Tarrytown and the overhead gantry in South Nyack.

The watercolor painting “Coming home on the Tappan Zee” /© Donna Davies Timm

What I noticed was the view from the bridge was gone; even as we were parallel to the river, it was blocked by blue girders. In the above painting my friend, artist Donna Davies Timm, captures a favorite view that also disappeared. When I got near the soon-to-be-gone toll plaza in Tarrytown I chose to pay cash instead of using an E-ZPass® lane. A cheerful lady took my money and returned my smile.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2016

Tugboat Specialist Recovered from River’s Floor

Several days earlier, salvage experts prepared to recover the tugboat Specialist from its resting place 40 feet below the Hudson River’s surface.

Nearly two weeks ago the tugboat struck a stationary construction barge, killing all three workers onboard. Two of their three bodies were recovered; the body of the third worker remained inside the tug.

This morning, crews worked to raise it from the river’s floor.

“Repeated attempts were made to recover the body of the third crewman so he could be returned to his family as soon as possible,” Westchester County Executive Robert P. Astorino said yesterday. “Sadly, the way he is trapped in the wreckage will delay his recovery until next week. Our thoughts and prayers continue for the families of all three crew members.”

The 1,000-ton salvage crane Chesapeake 1000 was scheduled to lift the Specialist from the river as it was being pumped free of water to prevent additional fuel oil and contaminated water from spreading in the Hudson.

It was set to be placed upon a barge, where tarps will shield it while the body of the third worker is recovered. Westchester County Police and the U.S. Coast Guard are investigating what caused the accident.

Prayers to the families of the workers aboard tugboat Specialist.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2016

“Maker” EXPO encourages Hands-on Learning

A day of projects that were about on STEM and STEAM/NNYB

Heathcote Elementary School teacher Christine Boyer was talking about presentations — the HEXPO event at her school last May, and the bridge presentation last fall. This year’s HEXPO happens again in May.

“We had a huge assembly at the start of school in October, and the first trip to the viewing area was in November,” Boyer said. “It was a sunny day, and everyone wanted to see the bridge.”

It was during one of the school’s buddy trips — one 5th-grade class will go with second graders — that the kids got to see how far the project’s progressed just past its 1,000th day (October 15, 2015).

That trip came on the heels of the school’s first HEXPO last May. “It was a great day with lots of people,” Boyer said. LEGO® Master Builder Aaron Tang brought bridge assembly kits he created, a treat for the kids.

“The PTA bought some of the kits for each grade,” she said, “so the kids can build them. Our school is big on social media, and we’ve been following the project on Twitter.”

Some students who went to the viewing area in the fall will return this spring.

Teaming up to build a LEGO® bridge/C Boyer

“We talk a lot about documentation, and this way the kids take pictures and hold them side by side to see the changes,” Boyer said. “Some of our second graders who go next year as third graders will have that reference when we discuss it.”

Last year she organized the first Maker Expo — featuring hands-on learning and technology workshops that included 3D animation, design, building, LEGO® robotics and animation — to compliment the school’s “maker” philosophy.

“The Maker movement brings more engineering into schools,” she said. “We’re trying to highlight this curriculum, and even the kids in kindergarten are interested.”

Some of the students working in the Maker Space at Heathcote never held a screwdriver before, she said. “Now they’re saying, ‘Righty tighty, lefty loosey’ to remember which way to turn it.”

Next year, those kids will see the first span of the new 196,416-inch long bridge open to traffic. Now that’s a trivia question for you.

I’d like to know what you think.

Copyright © Janie Rosman and Kaleidoscope Eyes 2016