I recently read they’re considering converting the 56-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge to a walkway structure once a new bridge has been constructed next to it. It would be similar in function to the Walkway Over the Hudson located just north of the Mid-Hudson Bridge. It would handle walking and biking traffic only and would be both a “green” and healthy method of getting from one side of the river to the other, as well as a commercial entity, encouraging tourists to travel the three miles long pedestrian span, partake of goods and services available along the way, and just enjoy the scenery that is the majestic Hudson River and its surrounding valley in the Westchester and Rockland County areas.
This started out as a suggestion that became a bandwagon which many have climbed onto willingly and without much hesitation. Even I was smitten by the concept of recycling rather than demolishing the older Tappan Zee Bridge once the new one is in place and handling traffic. I could see that it would be considerably cheaper to maintain it as a walkway rather than spend the $50 million a year it now costs to service and repair it as a fully functional bridge. I was even persuaded by the argument of why demolish the bridge at a whopping cost of $150 million when you can have it continue to be enjoyed by walkers and bikers for years to come at a considerably lower price tag. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Hmm.
The Walkway over the Hudson didn’t become a viable crossway overnight. There were costs involved to convert it from unused train trestle to walkway, and the ribbon cutting ceremony for it was came about a year after the actual physical efforts began. A Tappan Zee walkway will require the same, if not more, startup time. The initial cost outlay to make it walker-friendly along its full length, as well as the conversion of the bridge and its embarking points near Tarrytown and Nyack to something that is also visitor-friendly will likely be more than for its one-mile counterpart 42 miles upstream.
I also wonder about those lower annual maintenance costs which have been touted. Granted that as a footbridge, the stresses would be considerably less than the constant pounding the TZB gets now from cars and trucks. However, the bridge is over 50 years old and its structural integrity has come into question. It may continue to be viable for another 50 years, but just what it will take on a yearly basis in the future to prevent its slow or rapid crack and crumble into the Hudson River can only be estimated, and catastrophic failure from the unseen cannot be predicted.
Then there’s the demolition cost, that $150 million that makes jaws drop and minds dream of a better (and cheaper) solution. There are two things about that whopping price tag. The first is that it represents only about 1-2% of the total cost of putting up the new bridge beside it, presently estimated at over $5 billion. The second is that the cost of tearing it down is a one-shot deal. Yes, it’s a chunk of money, but once it’s done, the cost goes away. The cost to maintain the bridge as either a regular motor vehicle crossing or a walkway will continue and will inevitably rise like the tide that comes in under it. The cost for that work will also come out of the taxpayers’ pockets one way or another.
Please don’t get me wrong. I’m a strong advocate of the preserving and reinventing of all things that lend themselves to such an effort and would dearly love to see the Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge, which is only two years older than I am, continue to serve the public for which it was built. Finished construction of the new bridge is still a few years down the road from reality, so talk of what to do with “the old one”, as well as strongly coming down for or against its use as a walkway is premature. I will continue to watch as research is done regarding any continued use of the bridge presently in place. If converting it to a public footpath that lets people continue to use it and also brings in significantly increased revenue to the localities surrounding it can really be done without much fuss, muss and future money being poured into it, then point me in the direction of the bandwagon and I will happily jump on.
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