It’s always reassuring to know that public works are progressing, and for New York-New Jersey commuters, it is especially heartening to know that critical rehabilitation work on the George Washington Bridge has successfully reached the halfway mark.
Supporting The Weight of The Bridge Deck
The Associated Builders and Contractors’ (ABC) reports that highway and street investments,including bridgework, is going strong across the country: “The category jumped 20% over the past 12 months ending in March, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data.” Right on trend, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ) has an “approved $3.6 billion capital budget” marking a “return to pre-COVID levels following several years of reduced spending….” This is of course good news for progress on critical infrastructure work, such as the George Washington Bridge, where work on an 11-project restoration effort that began in 2013 is hitting milestones:
The 92-year-old George Washington Bridge’s $2 billion comprehensive restoration program recently surpassed the halfway mark….Significant improvements have already been made to the double-decked suspension bridge, including the widening and enhancement of the shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians on the north side of the bridge….Rehabilitation work on the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, as well as upgrades to the bridge roadway itself, such as the replacement of upper-level roadway finger joints and deck panels, have been officially completed….The lower level’s eastbound lanes and the upper level’s westbound stretch over Hudson Terrace have been rehabilitated, while the new helix ramp from the Palisades Interstate Parkway is complete. The…program includes critical rehabilitation work for the steel ropes and cables on the bridge, which support the weight of the bridge deck and traffic. Workers are now close to completing the replacement of each of the nearly 600 vertical suspender cables across the bridge.
Given the scale and scope of work, the rehabilitation program for the George Washington Bridge involves a host of contractors, and among the major players are:
- Maspeth, New York-based El Sol Contracting and Construction.
- Carteret, New Jersey-based Skanska Koch.
- Port Washington, New York-based Ahern Painting Contractors.
- College Point, New York-based GCCOM Construction Co.
Progress on the George Washington Bridge, and other long deferred infrastructure work across the country cannot come soon enough. The American Society of Civil Engineers warns that even with the massive federal funding commitment made with the IIJA, as well as state, local and private commitments across the country, efforts to address aging infrastructure are now competing with emerging challenges, and we are barely keeping up:
Changes in the infrastructure landscape — including supply chain problems, stricter emission standards in the energy sector and extreme weather — have raised baseline spending needs and are keeping the investment gap from being noticeably reduced. Infrastructure inefficiencies like power outages, uneven roads, time spent in traffic, load restrictions on bridges and leaking water pipes all have consequences for businesses and consumers….
Even as the government continues to roll out funds allocated by the IIJA, preparations are underway for ambitious new projects in anticipation of a next wave of federal investments. Meanwhile, in real time, there’s also lots of action at the local level, particularly around reimagining and rebuilding public schools, most of which date to the 1950s.
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