The Tappan Zee Bridge serves as a vital crossing for New Yorkers over the Hudson River. The cantilever bridge was originally constructed in 1955 in the wake of the Korean War. The tight construction budget and shortage of quality materials meant the bridge would last 50 years at best and carry a maximum of 100,000 cars a day. By the time of its replacement, 140,000 cars were cross the bridge daily.
The new crossing is a 3.1-mile twin-span, cable-stayed bridge that stretches over the Hudson River at its widest point. The massive project is still ongoing, with construction estimated to take five years and a price tag of just under $4 billion.
Before the project started, the Tappan Zee Constructors selected Crosby as the provider for the bridge’s rigging equipment, including shackles, wire rope clips, and hooks.
The Crosby RFID Chip System was also integrated into the hardware, which enables the end-user to track and record every piece of rigging equipment. It has been applied to more than 7,000 pieces of hardware on the project and was a valuable contribution on the bridge replacement. More than 30 cranes have been used on the project, and in addition to those, one of the world’s largest floating cranes, the Left Coast Lifter has played a huge part in the replacement span of the new bridge.
