Tappan Zee Construction Uses GPS Technology for Added Safety

CC Image courtesy of Doug Kerr via Flickr

A few miles north of Manhattan and its famous bridges (the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan Bridge, George Washington Bridge, etc.) is another historic and important New York State bridge: the Tappan Zee Bridge. Crossing the Hudson River at a spot called Tappan Zee (one of the river’s widest points), it connects Tarrytown to South Nyack. The original bridge—the longest bridge in New York State—opened in 1955. In the nearly sixty years since then, the population of the area and therefore its traffic congestion have dramatically increased. The bridge’s aging infrastructure, coupled with the fact that it carries far more traffic each day than it was designed to carry have resulted in the need to replace it. That immense project, costing nearly $4 billion, began in 2013.

What does all this have to do with GPS technology? To answer that, let’s look at the project, the problem, and the solution.

The Project

As stated above, the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project will cost nearly $4 billion; it’s scheduled to take five years to complete (2013–18). Also known as “the New New York Bridge” project, the replacement bridge will be designed to last a century before it needs any significant structural upgrades.

The finished bridge will consist of two roadways, one heading east and the other heading west, separated by a wide gap. Each roadway will have multiple lanes to accommodate all kinds of traffic—regular commuter traffic, buses, light rail, bicycles, and pedestrians. One aspect of the project that makes it unique and more difficult is that it’s part of Interstate 87/287, which means that on the west side of the river it has to curve toward the north and on the east side of the river it has to curve toward the south.

The Problem

Not long after the project began, safety for recreational and commercial boaters became a real concern when barges that were part of the construction project broke free from their moorings and floated downriver. One of these events took place in January 2014 when, during a storm, a pair of barges broke free and floated away. One of them traveled nearly 11 miles before it was retrieved. Another such event happened in March 2014 when a local resident saw a barge floating down the river and notified police and a news agency.

Unfortunately, according to The Journal News (White Plains, NY), construction officials acknowledged the problems only after being contacted by the Journal.

To address this serious issue, bridge construction authorities instituted a number of protocols to increase safety.

• Upgraded mooring lines on barges coupled with increased worker education.

• In March 2014 they issued a News Release entitled “Coast Guard Urges Caution Near TZ Bridge,” which stated that the construction area is a “Regulated Navigation Area (RNA), a designated area . . . within which vessel movements are restricted.” The RNA extends 500 yards in each direction north and south of the bridge.

• Also in March 2014 they issued a “Project Update” which included the following information:
  
  • The creation of a “no wake speed zone” within the RNA
  
  
  • The addition of river markers and safety buoys
  
  
  • Increased patrolling of the area by law enforcement officials
  
  
  • The equipping of Tappan Zee Bridge construction boats and barges with GPS technology
  
  

• In May 2014 Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the implementation of the GPS tracking system, stating that the system would not only protect recreational boaters but also construction crews.

• In June 2014 they issued a Coast Guard Notice to Mariners, urging boaters in the area to “proceed with caution.”

The Solution

Part of the solution involves equipping construction vessels with GPS technology. What does that mean, and how does it work to increase other boaters’ safety?

According to a “Boater Safety Information” flyer released in May 2014, there are 16 mooring locations on the river in the bridge’s construction zone—eight north of the bridge and eight south of the bridge. Each barge and all other boats that are part of the project now have GPS so that their exact location can be pinpointed at any time, day or night. Boaters and others interested in knowing their locations can simply go to http://www.newnybridge.com/barge/index.html to see the location of the 100 or so vessels involved in construction. The map there differentiates vessels that are moving from those that are stopped and specifies the Mooring Safety Zone and Regulated Navigation Area as well. Viewers can zoom and pan to gain more specific information.

The map refreshes every minute, and each vessel’s position is updated every five minutes. Thus, if a vessel were to break free and begin floating downstream, the problem would be noticed immediately, and it could be retrieved before it damaged property or caused loss of life.

Tappan Zee Construction Uses GPS Technology for Added Safety