EE Cruz of Manhattan and Tully Construction of Queens have formed a joint venture to carry out the project. The original estimate for the project was US$179 million but the current bid climate meant that the final amount was reduced by more than 35%.
The work includes reconstruction and widening the 308m-long Queens approach roadway structure, adding emergency breakdown lanes, and moving and rebuilding a local playground beneath the bridge. It is similar to an ongoing project on the Bronx end of the bridge, which is expected to be completed by 2012.
Above: The contract will involve similar work to that already completed on Bronx approach side of bridge, where wider piers have been built ready to take new, wider decking.
"The original 1930's bridge, with its narrow lanes and lack of emergency lanes, was not designed for today's traffic but this work, along with the Bronx approach project, will go a long way in transforming this 1930s era bridge into a modern, viable regional link for decades to come," said MTA Bridges and Tunnels chief engineer Joe Keane.
Tasks will include reconstruction of the bridge's foundations and construction of seven new double-arch concrete piers to support the wider lanes and emergency breakdown lanes.
The Bronx-Whitestone Bridge's 701m-long suspension span was the fourth longest in the world when the bridge opened in 1939. In 2010, a daily average of about 117,000 vehicles crossed the bridge.
