ABSTRACT

Construction for the original Tappan Zee Bridge started in March 1952 and the bridge opened to traffic on December 15, 1955. The original bridge was designed to last only 50 years due to material shortages during the Korean War at the time of its construction. The aging bridge bears an average of 138,000 vehicles per day, substantially more traffic than its designed capacity. The new Tappan Zee Bridge is being constructed just to the north of the original structure. It is a 3.1 mile twin crossing comprised of low marine viaduct Approaches, and features twin cable-stayed bridges over the shipping channel. The new bridge has a fully integrated Health Monitoring system designed to monitor the structure for its full 100 year service life. The construction cost is valued at $3.98 billion.