Twin Bridges Rehab Work Begins After Labor Day

ALBANY, NY (08/29/2012)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald today announced that work will begin after Labor Day weekend as part of a $29 million project to replace the decks on the Thaddeus Kosciusko bridges carrying Interstate 87 over the Mohawk River between Albany and Saratoga counties. The northbound and southbound structures, locally known as the Twin Bridges, are being rehabilitated through Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's NY Works program. Although traffic will still flow over the bridges during construction, the work will necessitate weekend lane closures until the end of October.

"This bridge work is an excellent example of how Governor Cuomo's NY Works funding can be used to invest in our aging infrastructure and quickly improve its condition while creating jobs and bolstering a key commercial corridor," Commissioner McDonald said. "Accelerating projects like this means important repairs are getting done and New Yorkers are getting back to work.

McDonald continued: "Replacing the decks on the Twin Bridges will greatly improve safety for the more than 100,000 commuters, long distance travelers and trucks who use the interstate crossing each day. DOT's reinvestment in these bridges will increase their lifespan and save taxpayer money by avoiding more costly repairs in the future. Although the closures will cause some inconvenience, motorists should drive carefully through the work zone and give themselves extra time to get to their destination. When the work is done it will be well worth it."

Congressman Paul Tonko said, "Investments in our roads and bridges not only create jobs and boost the local economy, they also make the Capital Region a better place to live and raise a family. By replacing the deck on the northbound side of the Twin Bridges, and doing so during the weekend to try to minimize impact on local traffic, we recognize the importance of our infrastructure and begin to make necessary repairs in a thoughtful manner. These are the sort of federal resources I will continue to fight for in the halls of Congress."

Senator Neil Breslin said, "Investing in our state's infrastructure is not only critical for the safety and well-being of New Yorkers, but it also puts people back to work. This is yet another great example of how Governor Cuomo's NY Works program has been effective in improving our state's infrastructure."

Senator Roy McDonald said, "The most important result of these bridge improvements is the safety of commuters and visitors to our area. It's also significant that this project will create jobs and have a positive impact on the local economy. Improving our infrastructure along with maintaining roads and bridges in Upstate New York is paramount to our success in the future."

Assemblyman Robert Reilly said, "The upcoming NY Works project, which will replace the decking on the twin bridges, is a vital example of New York State investing in its long term infrastructure, while at the same time creating jobs and supporting long-term economic growth."

Deck replacement will begin on Friday, September 7, requiring the first weekend closure of the northbound bridge. Work will require a total of six consecutive weekend bridge closures, excluding Columbus Day weekend. During the closures, the northbound bridge will close to traffic at 10 p.m. Friday and remain closed until 5 a.m. the following Monday.

To keep people informed, NYSDOT will use 13 variable message signs along I-87 in the vicinity of the bridges, and has 11 existing traffic cameras and six newly installed temporary cameras for motorists to check current traffic conditions before traveling. Feeds from the traffic cameras are available at the project website, twin.bridges@dot.ny.gov and through 511NY, the State's official traffic and travel information source. Available by calling 511 or by visiting www.511NY.org, the site and mobile app offer free, 24/7, statewide real-time traffic and transit.

While the weekend lane closures are in place, traffic heading north will be crossed over onto the southbound bridge. The southbound bridge will carry one lane of traffic heading southbound and one lane of traffic heading northbound. Weekend traffic delays are expected to be significant. It is imperative that motorists remember to drive carefully through this bridge construction zone.

Lane closures will not occur during the weekdays, in order to avoid negatively impacting the heavily congested morning and afternoon commuting hours. Lane closures will not be in place during Columbus Day weekend.

Concrete barriers were put in place on the bridge shoulders on Tuesday, August 28. Motorists are encouraged to maintain their speed when driving over the bridge, as the lanes were not narrowed by the barrier installation.

Traffic on Route 9, the parallel route carrying traffic over the Mohawk River, is expected to increase significantly during the weekend bridge closures. Motorists are strongly encouraged to take alternate routes for crossing the Mohawk, such as the bridge carrying Route 32 over the river between Cohoes and Waterford, or the Rexford Bridge carrying Route 146 between Niskayuna and Clifton Park.

Next spring, deck replacement will begin on the southbound bridge, which will again require six weekend closures. The weekend closures will again run from Friday at 10 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m. and are expected to be completed before Memorial Day. Traffic heading southbound will be crossed over onto the northbound bridge, with one lane heading in each direction.

Construction on the bridges began in June with repairs to the bearings, joints, steel stringers and concrete substructure. Pre-cast concrete deck panels have been fabricated off-site. Using pre-cast concrete greatly reduces the amount of traffic impacts, since the concrete does not need to go through the lengthy curing process on-site before being ready for traffic.

The construction contractor is Lane Construction Corporation, a national company based in Cheshire, Conn. and experienced in building heavily travelled interstate bridges.

This announcement highlights continuing construction for NY Works transportation improvement projects that were enabled by the Governor's 2012-2013 Budget, which included funding for these projects to move forward. NY Works focuses on improving bridges that are in fair condition and bringing their condition to good. This preventive maintenance work better preserves the state's infrastructure and helps guard against the need for more costly, in-depth construction.

###