On Tuesday May 8, 2018, the central span of the Tappan Zee Bridge was lowered onto a barge and taken away. Though previously the approach spans had been cut, the view of that work was largely obscured by the new Tappan Zee Bridge. Only from certain viewpoints was it easy to see that, indeed, the old entrance roadbeds had been removed. This recent event was the most obvious evidence of the demolition of the old Tappan Zee Bridge, now being clearly visible from both Irvington and Tarrytown. Pieces of the old bridge will be sunk off Long Island to create artificial reefs, while 130-150 sections of the road surface will be reused in upstate New York. Other parts of the bridge will be scrapped and recycled.
Thanks to Tim Brennan for the day-of tip from Irvington about the removal of the center span. The next evening, May 9, I went to Kingsland Point Park in Sleepy Hollow to get the view from the north. From Kingsland Point my grandmother Edith Stein Downing produced a number of watercolor paintings showing the construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge in the 1950s. I have blogged about these wonderful images before – click here to view them. Though many New Yorkers probably are glad to see the old Tappan Zee Bridge go away, these treasured family paintings connect the bridge with our “Nana” and tinge with sadness the disappearance of this landmark that graced for so long the Hudson River view from Tarrytown, where several generations of our family have lived.
View through fencing at the perimeter of the former General Motors factory site. I have similar photographs c. late 1990s from here showing the remains of the factory undergoing demolition which, one of these days, I will scan and post to the blog.
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“The Lighthouse View.”
And now it has come to the point that I get to see what my grandmother saw, sort of. In her painting and my photograph, one of the spans is in the water just below the towers (on the left in the painting, at far right in the photograph). Where before the span was about to be hoisted now it has just come down. Of course now there is a new bridge in the way, and a pedestrian bridge connects the Tarrytown Lighthouse with the shore. Soon the Tappan Zee Bridge will be gone entirely. The new bridge does not yet entirely interest me as a visual subject. When I return to Kinglsand Point and old Tappan Zee Bridge is gone, I’ll have to be content with photographing the lighthouse, sunsets, and silhouettes.
I worked on that project for 8 years while at Arup and got to know every trestle & spar of that old bridge – had to build all of it to scale in 3D for the Thruway Authority. Also did all the option plans with my team for all those public meetings. But it was time to go. Was only built to last 50 years and that was in 1954. It was in dangerous shape and failed the seismic tests our engineers did. Still will miss it, though!
Thanks, Robert. Interesting info. I can’t speak to the modern-day technical conditions of the bridge, but research has proven that there is no period documentation that the bridge was built to last only 50 years. As I wrote on my other blog entry about the TZB “One other item about the Tappan Zee Bridge that I would like to remark upon is the repeated mistaken assertion by politicians, public officials, and reporters that the bridge was built to last only fifty years, and that it was built with substandard materials. Such a possibility defies logic. The statement was repeated again in the New York Times on January 19, 2014. (That article also includes a small selection of excellent historic images.)
The myth of the fifty-year lifespan seems to have modern origins in the timeline of discussions for replacing the bridge and cannot be found in any construction-era documentation. The Journal News researched this story and the New York State Thruway Authority itself debunked this myth in 2006 (See “Thruway Authority debunks Tappan Zee myth“).”
Unfortunately the JN article is no longer online, but the article appears to have been published on or about October 21, 2007.
Interesting response. I can only tell you I first heard that 50 year version from the Bridge engineering team I was working with. However, I can tell you with authority that bridge was in far worse condition than any public officials let on. For obvious reasons. Maybe one day I can show you the defects animation I did on it for the Thruway Authority, which integrated photos our engineers took of the key problem spots. TZB was falling apart as fast as they could repair it. I was out there in 2009 with the pilot who ran the inspection tug for 30 some odd years and his stories were hair-raising. Either way, it was time for a new bridge.
What do you mean “old Tappan Zee Bridge” and “new “Tappan Zee Bridge”? There is only one Tappan Zee Bridge and it is gone. I was contacted by a newspaper editor in Rockland about restoring the name and I also got a card from the “Save our Tappan Zee Bridge” organization.
Official name or not, most people, in my experience, call it the “new Tappan Zee Bridge.”
Hi Rob, great pictures. Enjoyed seeing the comparison of my Mom’s watercolor & your photo. Walkway to Lighthouse did not exist in her time. Growing up around the construction of the bridge I can honestly say we never heard anything about the bridge being built for only 50 years. AM
Thanks Aunt Meg!
Great post Yaz. That’s a really neat comparison shot with your Grandma’s watercolour and your ability to line things up 64 years later.
Remarkable to see this very sad process. Thanks for sharing it!