STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — At first all you could see was the tops of the yellow cranes. But now, the approach roadways of the replacement Goethals Bridge are taking shape, building out from the Elizabeth and Staten Island sides.
For a better look at what is going on both on roadway level and below, watch the time lapse to see giant cranes lift girders to the top of the support columns where seemingly little tiny people guide them into place.
The girders — support beams of concrete and rebar (reinforcing steel bar) — are a force unto themselves. They are each 176 feet long, narrow at three-and-a-half feet wide and nearly eight feet tall. Plus, 110 tons are packed onto that frame.
That’s “taller than the Statue of Liberty’s height from feet to torch” says the Port Authority.
Here are some other numbers and stages in the building of the Goethals Bridge replacement, which began in 2014 and is slated to be completed in 2018.
- A total of 397 girders will ultimately be used, five between each set of two capped columns.
- Each beam is manufactured in central Pennsylvania, then shipped as a 16-axle truckload for the 130-mile trip to the New Jersey construction site on the western side of the Arthur Kill.
- Each girder is outfitted with tubes that will carry water for the bridge’s fire suppression system and electrical wiring for its lights.
- The original bridge, now 87 years old, is to remain in use until completion of the first new span.
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The design of the new bridge, a twin-span cable-stay design, will look dramatically different from its 87-year-old steel truss predecessor. (Courtesy of Port Authority)
The new Goethals Bridge will actually be two spans, one west-bound and one east-bound, each span with three lanes in a single direction. Three 12-foot-wide lanes in each direction will replace the current two narrow 10-foot-wide lanes.
- A 10-foot-wide sidewalk/bikeway along the northern edge of the New Jersey-bound roadway is included.
- A central corridor between the eastbound and westbound roadway decks will be sufficient to accommodate potential transit service.
- When the first span is complete, it will accommodate traffic traveling both ways until the second span is complete. The old span will become defunct and will be demolished.
- The design of the new bridge, a twin-span cable-stay design, will look dramatically different from its 87-year-old steel truss predecessor.
