The Tappan Zee Bridge project has reached a new phase. Two hundred of the approximately 1,000 piles that will serve as the foundation of the two main spans of the bridge are in place.

Tappan Zee Constructors, LLC, a consortium of engineering and construction firms that is designing and building the new bridge, has begun cleaning out the piles in preparation to be reinforced with steel and poured concrete.

These piles can be as little as three feet in diameter and as large as six, lengths vary between 100 and 300 feet. The great variation in the bed of the Hudson River necessitates piles of divergent sizes.

“Now that we have enough pilings in place they’re starting to do pile clean out, so they can then start reinforcing them,” bridge spokesman Brian Conybeare said.

The next step for construction will be to put caps on the piles, said Deputy Project Manager Larry Owen.

“As the piles are being completed we will follow in behind with additional crews to build concrete sub-structure units, and that work will start later this summer,” Owsen said.

Work is ongoing at four locations in the river; there are currently about 90 construction vessels in the water. Safety will be a priority for both construction vessels and other vessels in the construction zone this summer, according to Conybeare.

(Source: MidHudsonNews)