Contractors have proposed a new plan to demolish the Tappan Zee Bridge between Rockland and Westchester counties in New York after concerns that removing it piece by piece would be a safety hazard, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Earlier in the fall, contractors submitted a plan to use explosives to take down a section of the 63-year-old bridge, which was recently replaced. The original plan involved dismantling the bridge and removing it in pieces, but a spokesman from the Federal Highway Administration said workers can’t get onto the east span of the structure because it is tilting and is structurally weak.
The spokesman said a decision on the new demolition method is expected within days or weeks.
Wall Street Journal reports that the original plan was to demolish the bridge piece by piece, in part because of threats that explosives could pose to two endangered species of sturgeon in the river. Contractors have tried to move away from the slow dismantling method once before after hearing a loud pop from the bridge, but later that month, engineers determined it was safe and the process moved forward.
Any changes to the demolition process will be reviewed by federal and state agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, Wall Street Journal reports.
Once demolition is complete, parts of the bridge will be used as artificial reefs along Long Island, with chunks of concrete and steel scattered among a half-dozen artificial reefs. The initiative is part of the state’s goals to provide new habitats and increase diversity of marine life, promote recreational fishing and diving and pump up economic development. Other parts of the bridge are being recycled and sent to scrap yards.