The Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge, almost always referred to as the Tappan Zee Bridge, or simply the Tappan Zee, is a cantilever bridge in New York over the Hudson River at one of its widest points, the Tappan Zee, named for an American Indian tribe from the area called the "Tappan" (zee being the Dutch word for "sea"). It connects Nyack in Rockland County with Tarrytown in Westchester County and is the only highway crossing of the Hudson between the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, over which the eastern Interstate 84 traverses, and the George Washington Bridge (Interstate 95).

Construction started in March 1952 and it opened for traffic on December 15, 1955. The total length of the bridge and approaches is 16,013 feet (just over 3 miles, 4.881 km). The cantilever span is 1,212 feet (369.42 meters) providing a maximum clearance of 138 feet (42 m) over the water. The bridge is about north of Midtown Manhattan; the Manhattan skyline can be seen from the bridge on a clear day.

The bridge is part of the New York State Thruway mainline, and also designated as Interstate 87 and Interstate 287. The span carries seven lanes of automotive traffic. The center lane can be switched between eastbound and westbound traffic depending on the prevalent commuter direction; on weekdays, the center lane is eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening. The switch is accomplished via a movable center barrier which is moved by a pair of barrier transfer machines. Even with the switchable lane, traffic is frequently very slow. The bridge is one of the primary means of crossing the Hudson River north of New York City; it carries much of the traffic between southern New England and points west of the Hudson.

In 1994, the name of Malcolm Wilson was added to the bridge's name upon the 20th anniversary of his leaving the Governor of New York's office in December 1974, though it is almost never used when the bridge is spoken about colloquially.

, each eastbound passenger car pays a toll of $5.00 cash, or $4.75 via E-ZPass.

In 2009, the Tappan Zee Bridge was featured on The History Channel "The Crumbling of America" showing the infrastructure crisis in the United States.

History and construction

With the increasing demands for commuter travel taxing the existing bridges and tunnels, the Port of New York Authority had plans in 1950 to construct a bridge across the Hudson near Dobbs Ferry. The proposal was overridden by Governor of New York Thomas E. Dewey, who wanted to construct a bridge to connect the New York State Thruway across Westchester to the New England Thruway. The Port Authority promised its bondholders that it would not allow any other entity to construct a river crossing within its jurisdiction, which reached to a point one mile (1.6 km) south of Nyack and across to Piermont. A May 10, 1950 editorial in The New York Times suggested that a site in southern Dobbs Ferry or northern Hastings-on-Hudson, where the Hudson narrowed considerably from its three-mile (5 km) width at Tappan Zee, would be a more appropriate site, and suggested that Governor Dewey work with his counterpart, Governor of New Jersey Alfred E. Driscoll, to craft a compromise that would offer Thruway customers a discounted bridge fare at a more southerly crossing. Two days later, Governor Dewey announced that the Port Authority had dropped its plans to construct a bridge of its own. The location would be as close to the Tarrytown-Nyack line just outside the Port Authority's jurisdiction. Dewey stated that World War II military technology would be used in the bridge's construction.

The site of the bridge, at the Hudson River's second-widest point, added to construction costs. The site was chosen to be as close as possible to New York City, while staying out of the range of the Port Authority's sphere of influence. A unique aspect about the design of the bridge is that the main span is supported by eight hollow concrete caissons. Their buoyancy supports some of the loads and helped to reduce costs.

Proposed replacement

The deteriorating structure, which bears far more traffic than it was designed for, has led to plans to repair the bridge or replace it with a tunnel or a new bridge. These plans and discussions were whittled down to six options and underwent environmental review. Part of the justification for the replacement of the bridge has been that it was constructed during material shortages during the Korean War and designed to last only 50 years. The collapse of the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minnesota on August 1, 2007 has renewed concerns about the bridge's structural integrity.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is studying the feasibility of either including a rail line across the new bridge or building the new bridge so a new rail line can be installed at a future date. The rail line, if built, will be located on a lower level, beneath the roadway. Commuter rail service west of the bridge in Rockland County is limited, and the MTA is studying expansion possibilities in Rockland County that would use the new bridge to connect with the Hudson Line on the east side of the bridge along the Hudson River for direct service into Manhattan.

On September 26, 2008, New York state officials announced their plan to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge with a new bridge that includes commuter-train tracks and lanes for high-speed buses. The bridge would cost $6.4 billion, while adding bus lanes from Suffern to Port Chester would cost $2.9 billion. Adding a rail line from the Metro-North station in Suffern and across the bridge, connecting with Metro-North’s Hudson Line south of Tarrytown, would cost another $6.7 billion. The plan is being reviewed for environmental impact.

Suicide prevention

From 1998 to 2008, more than 25 people committed suicide on the Tappan Zee Bridge, according to the New York State Thruway Authority. On August 31, 2007, NYSTA officials added four phones – two each on the Rockland and Westchester sides – that connect callers via the Lifeline suicide prevention hotline to counselors at LifeNet or Covenant House. Signs reading "Life is Worth Living" and "When it seems like there is no hope, there is help" have been placed on the bridge.

References

1. Melvin, Tessa. "If You're Thinking of Living In/Tarrytown; Rich History, Picturesque River Setting", The New York Times, August 21, 1994. Accessed December 30, 2007. "The Dutch called this point, the river's widest, the Tappan Zee -- Tappan probably for a group of Indians and Zee meaning "sea" in Dutch."
2. Mario Just Might Be Easier, New York Times, January 13, 1994.
3. Ingraham, Joseph C. "PORT BRIDGE PLAN BLOCKED BY DEWEY; Peril to Thruway Is Seen in Project at Dobbs Ferry for Link With Jersey Roads PORT BRIDGE PLAN BLOCKED BY DEWEY Brings Conflict Into Open Little Conflict Is Seen Tests Made 14 Years Ago", The New York Times, May 7, 1950. Accessed July 18, 2008.
4. "THAT THRUWAY BRIDGE", The New York Times, May 10, 1950. Accessed July 18, 2008.
5. Ingraham, Joseph C. "PORT BODY GIVES IN ON THRUWAY SPAN; Accedes to Dewey's Orders and Will Let the Bridge Be Built Wherever His Engineers Say GOVERNOR HINTS SECRET Implies War-Born Construction Idea Will Be Used and Says All Will Be Known Soon All Clear in 60 Days Spur to East Planned", [The New York Times, May 12, 1950. Accessed July 18, 2008.
6. Brenner, Elsa. "Future of Bridge Stirs Bicounty Cooperation", The New York Times, April 20, 2000, Accessed July 18, 2008. "The site was selected to be as close to New York City as possible while escaping the 25-mile jurisdiction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which apparently opposed the bridge because it would compete with the authority's own crossings."
7. Chen, David W. " Ideas & Trends: A Bridge Too Long; The Cost of Urban Sprawl: Unplanned Obsolescence", The New York Times, January 30, 2000. Accessed July 18, 2008. "And because it is so long -- built at the Hudson's widest point to escape the 25-mile jurisdiction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey -- it is unusually expensive to maintain, repair and, if necessary, replace."
8. http://web.archive.org/web/20060725173254/
9. http://www.tzbsite.com/tzblibrary/stage1/tzbrecommendedreviewalt.pdf
10. A Bridge That Has Nowhere Left to Go, New York Times, January 17, 2006.
11. "Tappan Zee Bridge has received 'poor' ratings", Poughkeepsie Journal, August 3, 2007. Accessed August 9, 2008.
12. State to Replace, Not Rebuild, Tappan Zee Bridge, New York Times, Sept. 26, 2008.
13. Struggling to Prevent Suicides at Tappan Zee, New York Times, May 11, 2008.

External links

• Thruway schedule of cash tolls at fixed toll barriers (includes bridge toll)
• Thruway Authority Factbook
• Tappan Zee Bridge at NYC Roads
• Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 Environmental Review
• Tappan Zee Bridge on Flickr