Transportation/Construction Committee Update
December 11, 2014
Contact: Frank Kerbein
The Transportation/Construction Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 18, 2014 contained three excellent presentations on current topics of interest to committee members.
Some highlights:
Brian Conybeare, Special Advisor to the Governor on the Tappan Zee Bridge Project, returned for the fourth time to update the committees on the project. His last update was a year ago.
- Information on the project is continuously updated on the project’s website: www.NewNYBridge.com. In addition to updates, the public can search documents, sign up for email construction alerts and view the project progress through on-site cameras.
- Pile Driving and Other Construction continues in the Hudson River as crews place the foundations of the new bridge. A second shift of workers continues pile welding, pile cleanout and concrete placement operations associated with foundations.
Work also continues on the new bridge’s landings on both sides of the river. In Westchester, work includes drilling holes into the bedrock for the foundation of the landing. In Rockland, a similar operation is improving the strength of the soil by using aggregate piers, which are constructed with a drill that mixes soil and crushed stone to form a strong base for the new bridge’s abutment and foundation. Noise-reducing drilling measures are being used to minimize sound levels. Additional work includes:
- Main span foundation construction
- River Road utility work
- Rockland trestle construction
Richard Thomas, Director of State and Local Legislative Affairs from the Design-Build Institute of America, visited us from Washington and updated the group on design-build successes from across the country. His presentation provided a primer on design-build, the level of design-build use in states across the country and some of the latest design-build research. His presentation can be found here.
SGT. Jim Allendorph, Supervisor of the New York State Police Troop G Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit and a Trooper from his unit, finished our programming with an in-depth review of the operation of his inspection team. He covered the three levels of inspections, equipment used in inspections, enforcement and made some practical suggestions to our members concerning load securement. His unit is always available for outreach and industry-specific safety demonstrations. His presentation can be found here.