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 April 21, 2001 |
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City Plans a Change for RI Bridge: The City received Coast Guard permission for the change in 1998.  Under one plan being considered, the bridge would look as it does now, though the lifting towers would not be functional. At Wednesday night's meeting of Community Board 8 (CB8) in the Chapel of the Good Shepherd, consultants for NYCDOT's movable bridges division described several alternatives for rehabilitation of the bridge; all those being considered would result in the bridge's being fixed in place, no longer able to be raised to permit passage of ships. One of the alternatives would leave the bridge looking as it looks now. Two others under active consideration would remove the lifting towers. One of those would leave a portion of the tower support structure, leaving a boxy look at each end of the bridge. The other would remove the tower supports and replace them with a slanted beam, producing a "trestle" look.  Another plan would remove the towers but leave their support structures at each end of the bridge. The trestle look was criticized by Roosevelt Island Historical Society President Judy Berdy, who said the illustration shown by the consultants reminded her of a "Long Island Railroad trestle bridge," which she called "an insult to the Island."  The plan apparently favored by NYC DOT would finish off the ends of the bridge after removing the towers. The NYCDOT representatives described a series of problems with the bridge, which makes it a candidate for near-term rehabilitation. There is spalling, a condition in which steel reinforcement bars rust, expanding and forcing concrete to fall away, leaving the steel to rust further and weaken the bridge. There is also "hollow-sounding concrete" and a serious pigeon-waste problem, along with cracking and roadway finger-joints out of alignment. The consultants said that under all plans being given active consideration, at least one lane would remain open to traffic throughout the project, with two lanes open during the Island's schedule of rush-hour traffic involving hospital personnel. Traffic would be controlled during one-lane periods using two-way radios and flags. All the plans involve at least $18 million cost, to be paid by the City. Most plans would result in a "service life" of about 30 years. During the meeting, NYCDOT personnel said that the bridge is painted about every ten years at a cost of about $4 million. One advantage of removing the lift towers is that they would not have to be maintained or painted.
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