Tappan Zee

Lying 25 miles north of Manhattan, the Tappan Zee Bridge carried the New York State Thruway across the Hudson River, connecting the villages of Nyack and Tarrytown, New York. Having been recently replaced with a new structure, the original bridge was being demolished and removed. As part of the demolition, Weeks Marine of Cranbury, New Jersey, contracted Cutting Technologies (CTI) to help cut and remove the bridge’s decking, and the massive concrete ice breakers that sat at the bases of the bridge’s main piers.

The precast concrete ice breakers were added in the early 1990s to protect the bridge from the fierce ice flows known to traverse the Hudson. The structures were formed in sections, flown into position, post-tensioned and then grouted into place.

To section the vast structures into removable pieces, CTI deployed a team of technicians, slab saws, core drills and six specialty wire saws outfitted with custom bracketry necessary to make the needed cuts. Together, they severed 6” diameter post tension cables and heavily- reinforced, 14,000-lb concrete. Thousands of holes were core drilled
for removal rigging and pinning penetrations, and the massive sections were picked in pieces ranging in weight from 450 tons to 650 tons. Special cranes, barges and crews were organized to float each section off site so the concrete could be processed and recycled.

Working through a brutal winter, the technicians had to contend with a remote jobsite, strong currents, frigid temperatures and harsh winds blowing down the open river. In the end, CTI completed the original scope-of-work, as well as additional work added throughout the process, and all within the projected schedule and budget.