ON THE HUDSON – The super crane brought
in from San Francisco Bay to perform massive lifts for the new Tappan
Zee Bridge project completed the first of those Friday morning.
The operation took 3 ½ hours to hoist and set into place one of
the project’s largest precast concrete pile caps weighting 600 tons.
The crane will continue to lift and place sections of the new twin-span
bridge and will assist in the dismantling of the existing 60-year-old
structure. Some of those sections to be lifted into place weight from
900 to 1,100 tons.
“We brought in the I Lift NY super crane to reduce construction
time and cost, and this first lift is another symbol that the New NY Bridge
is officially on the way,” said Thruway Acting Executive Director
Robert Megna. “The crane is a key tool to building the bridge in
a safer, more cost-effective, environmentally-friendly way. With savings
of more than a billion dollars for toll-payers, this super crane will
continue to do great work.”
The Thruway Authority has yet to announce the toll structure for the new
bridge. There had been discussions that they could reach $15 for passenger
vehicles, which has raised concern of local officials and motorists.
