The New NY Bridge over the Hudson River north of New York City is now fully drivable — several months before its official opening.
Commuters will still have to wait for one of the new bridge's two parallel spans to open sometime in the fall, but The New York Times reports the bridge can support the weight of large trucks driving across the new structure.
The New NY Bridge is a 3.1-mi.-long, twin-span, cable-stayed replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge, which opened in 1955. That span will be torn down after the new bridge opens.
The new bridge uses more than 100,000 tons of domestically produced steel, which supports the road deck and infrastructure for bridge operations. Each steel girder assembly is a structure in its own right, measuring hundreds of feet in length and weighing as much as 1,100 tons. High Steel Structures, Inc., and Hirschfeld Industries (both AISC/NSBA members and AISC certified fabricators) furnished the approach span steel, while Canam-Bridges (also an AISC/NSBA member and AISC certified fabricator) fabricated the main span steel. If laid end to end, the bridge’s girders would stretch for over 30 miles.
For more about the New NY Bridge, visit www.newnybridge.com.