The 1,485-ft-long steel arch bridge, with a 505-ft-long main span, forms a crucial crossroad: It carries eight lanes of Interstate 95 across the Harlem River, linking, with a swirling medley of eight ramps, the Cross Bronx Expressway with other key arteries, such as the George Washington Bridge and the Major Deegan Expressway, or Interstate 87. Two parallel steel arches on concrete foundations cross the river with a 135-ft clearance and concrete-and-steel-girder approach viaducts. The rehabilitation project is the largest in the history of the New York State Dept. of Transportation (NYSDOT), says Commissioner Joan McDonald. It involves replacing the deck, retrofitting the steel arch span and support beams, and repairing or replacing support piers and foundations—all while maintaining passage of 200,000 daily vehicles.
"It's like riding a bicycle while changing the tires," says Phillip Eng, assistant commissioner for NYSDOT. "How do you reconstruct it while keeping 200,000 vehicles a day flowing?"