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Work To Begin In 2004 On New Roadway Deck
for Bronx-Whitestone Bridge

 

The Ice Patrol  
The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (MTA B&T Photo).  

MTA Bridges and Tunnels has awarded a $136.7 million contract for the replacement of the original 64-year old roadway deck on the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge with a new lightweight steel deck that will strengthen the bridge while reducing the weight of the span by 22 percent. The work will be performed by Perini/O&G Joint Venture of Peekskill, New York.

 

This deck replacement is scheduled to begin later this year and will continue the rehabilitation of the structure that will add many decades of service life to the bridge.

“We will capitalize on the experience we gained in a similar deck replacement that we finished last month on the Triborough Bridge,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Michael C. Ascher. “This will enable us to complete the work in the shortest possible amount of time and reduce the disruptions as much as possible for our customers.”

 

Deck replacement of all six of the bridge’s lanes is limited to 10 ½ months and includes removal of the original 4 ½ inch thick concrete filled steel grid deck, crossbeams and stringers with a new lightweight steel orthotropic deck with a bonded aggregate riding surface. Total duration of the contract is 35 months.

 

Work will be performed with one lane closed at a time around-the-clock for demolition and construction. A temporary, movable median barrier will be used to operate the bridge with three lanes in the peak direction and two lanes in the off-peak direction.

 

This project follows the work completed last fall that replaced the heavy steel trusses on both sides of the bridge with a new lightweight aerodynamic fairing. This project also includes a major electrical upgrade, new roadway and tower lighting, new communications and fire standpipe systems, and a movable inspection platform that will be installed under the roadway.

 

The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge opened to traffic April 29, 1939, the day before the opening of the 1939 New York World’s Fair. Nearly 1.7 billion vehicles have crossed the bridge since it opened to traffic. More than 120,000 vehicles use the bridge daily.

 

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