Bridge Posting Curbs Tilcon Operations

NYSDOT has undertaken some repairs of the James A. Farley Memorial Bridge, but has kept a 10-ton limit on the span.

By JOHN JORDAN

STONY POINT, NY— Structural steel problems found with a bridge on Route 9W in Stony Point in late June by inspectors with the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has prevented Tilcon New York Inc. from transporting crushed stone from its nearby Tomkins Cove quarry to major construction projects in the region.

The James A. Farley Memorial Bridge on Route 9W is a few miles south of the Tilcon Tomkins Cove plant and eight miles south of the Bear Mountain Bridge. At the moment Route 9W is the only viable means to transport the crushed stone south to Tilcon clients in the New York metro area, company officials maintained. Tilcon New York also operates a stone quarry in Clinton Park near Poughkeepsie on the eastern side of the Hudson River.

Sandra Jobson, a NYSDOT spokesperson, said that inspectors undertaking a routine inspection of the span in late June, which brings Route 9W over the Cedar Pond Brook, identified structural steel repairs that needed to be done. Contractors commenced repairs on the bridge on June 29. However, NYSDOT posted the bridge on June 30 banning trucks that have a special use permit from NYSDOT. Initially, NYSDOT set a legal vehicle weight limit of 80,000 pounds or approximately 40 tons but on July 3 reduced the maximum weight limit to 10 tons on the more than 85-year old bridge. On July 10, NYSDOT reported that the Farley Bridge would be closed from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on July 12 and 13 to accommodate bridge repairs and inspections.

Ms. Jobson said that bridge inspectors are continuing to evaluate the bridge. “It could be a temporary situation or it (the bridge posting) may need to stay in place until the bridge is replaced,” she said. NYSDOT has scheduled replacement of the James A. Farley Memorial Bridge to begin in 2010. She added that NYSDOT will “have a better idea” of whether the issue will be a temporary or long-term situation in the next couple of weeks.

Any possible means of diverting the trucks to local streets was blocked by the Town Board of Stony Point when it voted on July 8 to preclude trucks with state issued “R permits” (allowing vehicles weighing in excess of 80,000 pounds to cross the span) from using Lowland Hills Road which bypasses the Farley Bridge on the east and Route 210, Reservoir Road and Central Drive, to the west of the bridge. Tilcon estimates that if a reasonable detour is not agreed to, it would incur additional shipping charges amounting to nearly $8 million per year for its Tomkins Cove Quarry alone. The company stated it could be forced to shut down the quarry operations causing the loss of 30 staff jobs and an additional 40 or more positions for truckers and vendors.

“We are making every effort to find a mutually acceptable solution to this very serious problem,” said John Cooney, Jr., president of Tilcon New York. “To date, the town and Rockland County, which owns Route 210, have both refused to allow our trucks to utilize the alternative roads around the Farley Bridge. It has been suggested by the town that we direct our trucks north and use the Bear Mountain Bridge to cross the Hudson and proceed down the east side of the river. Unfortunately, this is not a viable solution either financially or practically.”

This is part of the July 1, 2008 online edition of Construction News.

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