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YORKTOWN, N.Y. – The overhaul of the AMVETS Bridge on the Taconic State Parkway is progressing as scheduled, and northbound traffic will be restored by early November, the New York State Department of Transportation announced.
“When complete, our bridge restoration project will provide a smoother ride and improve safety for thousands of travelers,” state Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said in a statement.
The $26 million construction job began in March, and aside from the red arches, the old bridge over the New Croton Reservoir has been demolished and replaced with new steel. The foundation is expected to be completed next week, and concrete will then be poured over the bridge deck.
Additional work that remains includes installing guide and bridge rails, paving the bridge approaches and striping the new bridge surface.
During the construction, northbound traffic between Pines Bridge Road in New Castle and Underhill Avenue in Yorktown has been shifted southbound. The 3.5-mile stretch of parkway is four lanes wide with a concrete barrier between two lanes in each direction. Over the bridge, the speed limit has been lowered to 35 mph and lanes have been reduced from 11 feet to 9 feet.
When in use, the Transportation Department said, about 32,000 vehicles per day use the north and southbound bridges. Commuters were encouraged to use other routes during the construction, such as Route 9, Route 100, I-684 and the Saw Mill River Parkway.
When northbound traffic returns in November, the two temporary crossovers will be removed. The Transportation Department will continue to work on bridge painting and project landscaping. Work is not expected to be completed in its entirety until May 2013.
Comments (4)
I think bridge color is not an issue, the issue here is how can bridge construction companies insure the safety of the people who use this bridge.
If I were to choose, I want the color to stay as it is but you can also do the poll if want to. Are you interested on steel truss bridge?
Yeah, it really deserves a poll whether the color would remain the same or not. How long does the construction last? I guess its just a minor upholstery they made, right? QA training
I think that the bridge should be kept with the color that is is now as one person has suggested in another post. How about you, do you think the color of the bridge should be kept the same as it is now? How about a poll on this one?