NIAGARA FALLS —
State transportation officials said Tuesday they’ll do all they can to keep traffic flowing along the I-190 as crews work in the months ahead to replace the deck on the northbound south Grand Island Bridge.
Representatives from the state Department of Transportation said the $48 million bridge rehabilitation project has been designed to keep traffic delays at a minimum. They also encouraged commuters in Niagara and Erie counties to prepare for adjustments in their travel schedules as work progresses.
“I’m not saying there won’t be any impacts, but we are trying to minimize those impacts,” said Tom Pericak, Buffalo division director for the state DOT.
The deck replacement project is part of the state Thruway Authority’s seven-year, $2.1 billion Highway and Bridge Capital improvement program. It represents the first time since the 1980s that extensive repair work has been done on the span, which was originally built in 1962. The project’s contractor, American Bridge Co. of Pennsylvania, is currently doing preliminary substructure work on the bridge. On Monday, crews will begin replacing the span’s existing concrete bridge deck with pre-cast, concrete deck panels.
During construction, the northbound bridge will be closed nightly, Sunday through Thursday, as follows: 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. now through May 26; 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. June 1 to Sept. 1 and 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sept. 7 to Oct. 28. Northbound traffic will be detoured onto the adjacent southbound bridge, where two-way traffic will be maintained. Each direction of traffic will be reduced from two lanes to one lane. Two southbound entrance ramps - Grand Island Boulevard and South State (Beaver Island) Parkway - will also be closed. A detour to Whitehaven Road will be posted.
Pericak said the goal is for construction work to cease each day by 6 a.m. He said the construction schedule is dependent upon a number of factors, including weather. As a result, he said, early morning commuters may encounter traffic delays as work continues. On the plus side, Pericak said the thruway authority’s agreement with the contractor stipulates that work must be completed each day by 6 a.m. Failure to do so results in the contractor paying the authority $1,000 for every minute construction exceeds the 6 a.m. deadline, according to Pericak.
“There’s quite and incentive there for them to have this done on time,” Pericak said.
DOT officials expect all of the deck replacement work to be completed in November.
In the meantime, Pericak encouraged frequent users of the I-190 to be patient and stay tuned for construction and traffic updates.
Motorists and tourists are encouraged to visit the thruway authority’s Web site at www.nysthruway.org or tune into the Highway Advisory Radio at 1610 AM for the most up-to-date construction information. Transportation officials also recommend motorists sign up for the TRANSalerts system, which provides subscribers with e-mails describing unscheduled and emergency lane closures.
“There’s various ways for people to get information on what’s happening,” Pericak said.
Grand Island
Related Photos
-
James Neiss/staff photographer Niagara Falls, NY - Ryan Virtuoso of Niagara Falls, a carpenter with Local Union 289, works on the South Grand Island Bridges on Tuesday. The north bound lane of the south brides is closed off each evening and re-opened in the morning.
March 30, 2010
GRAND ISLAND: Get ready for a bit of bridge work
South Grand Island Bridge to be closed nightly for deck replacement project
- Grand Island
-
-
LETTERS FROM THE ISLAND: Community keeps its Fab Five
Dear Mainland Interventionists: Usually it takes a chowder sale to draw this many folks to our Fire Hall. Islanders were waiting at the doors at daybreak Thursday and filed in at a steady stream. Between the time we entered and left, 17 more had signed in.
-
LETTERS FROM THE ISLAND: Clearing a path through the junk
Dear Joe: Thanks for coming last weekend to help us clean the room Dad calls his “office.” (Sanford & Son called their place an office, too.) It used to look as if a hurricane had just passed. Now it looks like a mere high-end tropical storm.
-
GRAND ISLAND: Get ready for a bit of bridge work
State transportation officials said Tuesday they’ll do all they can to keep traffic flowing along the I-190 as crews work in the months ahead to replace the deck on the northbound south Grand Island Bridge.
-
SMITH: Letters from the Island arrives
Greetings from The Island. Wish you were here. Some nit-pickers say we don’t even qualify as an “island,” since we’re connected by bridge to a Mainland we can see from every shore, but some days we’re so “Island-y” that we oughta wear grass skirts. (Well, maybe not ’til it warms up.)
-
GRAND ISLAND: Sparks judgment by year’s end
Was the search warrant good?
That’s the question Grand Island Town Justice Mark Frentzel will answer before the end of the year regarding the Peter Sparks animal cruelty case on Grand Island. - GRAND ISLAND: School officials investigating weekend party About 40 GI seniors caught at party where alcohol was being served
- ISLAND FUND RAISER: Volunteers still sought for June 8 Relay for Life
- TUESDAY: Multi-car wreck halts southbound traffic off island (10:11 a.m.)
- GRAND ISLAND: Christmann named superintendent Robert W. Christmann has been selected as the new superintendent of schools for the Grand Island School District.
- HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Grand Island tops Ken East The Grand Island Vikings wasted no time getting on the board Saturday afternoon. Only two plays into the game, tailback Matt McKenna took a handoff on a counter and scampered 65 yards to give GI an early lead — one which it would never relinquish. The Vikings ran for four scores in total during a 27-14 Class A North win over Kenmore East at Parker Field.
- More Grand Island Headlines
-
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
