It’s a new bridge with a long history. Originally constructed as a cantilever bridge and opened to traffic in 1955, the Tappan Zee Bridge is being replaced with a 3.1 mile twin span, cable-stayed bridge that crosses the Hudson River at its widest point. Although it serves as a vital crossing of the river for New York residents, it wasn’t originally constructed to last. The initial bridge was built in the wake of the Korean War. This resulted in a tight budget and a shortage of quality materials for building. It was meant to last fifty years (at best) and carry max 100,000 cars. But now, with roughly 140,000 cars crossing daily, it has far exceeded its limits and originally planned fifty-year lifespan.
When the decision to construct a replacement was finally made, a consortium of some of the world’s best-known designers and builders were formed to assure that the new crossing was state-of-the-art and could handle the increased traffic. It was (and still is), a massive project, with construction estimated to take five years and a price tag of just under four billion dollars.
The Call to Crosby
Before boots hit the ground however, the rigging equipment that would be used by the crew had to be decided. The Tappan Zee Constructors (TZC) called upon a company who had an extensive reputation for reliability that went back more than a century.
The Crosby Group has been trusted by the lifting and rigging industry since 1880. Whether the crew was assembling the girders or suspended 400 feet above the road deck, they relied on Crosby shackles, wire rope clips, and hooks to keep them safe.
The Crosby RFID Chip System was also integrated into the hardware, which enables the end-user to track and record every piece of rigging equipment. It has been applied to over 7,000 pieces of hardware on the project and was a valuable contribution on the bridge replacement. Over 30 cranes are being used on the project and in addition to those, one of the world’s largest floating cranes was brought in to aid in the replacement project. The Left Coast Lifter has played a huge part in the replacement span of the new bridge.
In USA Today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo had this say about the bridge:
“It was done professionally and it was done beautifully.”
While the original Tappan Zee bridge may not have been built to last, the new bridge will consist of an extra lane going each way to avoid delayed traffic and has a predicted lifespan of at least a century before any major repairs are needed. Thanks in part to the support and equipment provided by The Crosby Group, the new Tappan Zee Bridge (officially to be named the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge) will have a reputation of safety, durability, and reliability, like that of the Crosby brand. It is estimated to be fully completed sometime in 2018.
