3 New Bridges Rise in New York, With Looks That Could Stop Traffic.

[elleng]

The home of past-century wonders like the Brooklyn Bridge returns to
building cable-stayed bridges, which are designed to “stand the test of time.”

'New York, the city of perpetual arrival, is getting three new gateways: diaphanous cable-stayed bridges that look almost too ethereal to bear the load of thousands of vehicles and people each day. They are already transforming the skyline. With luck, they may even improve the drive.

In the last half-century, while New York was out of the bridge-building business, cable-stayed bridges were proliferating around the world. They were relatively easy and economical to build. And they almost couldn’t help but look beautiful, with their slender pylons and radiating cables.

It’s as though a race of giant harp makers had been roaming the planet, threading it together with gossamer strands of steel.'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/27/nyregion/3-new-bridges-rise-in-new-york-with-looks-that-could-stop-traffic.html?

[PJMcK]

1. Aren't they great?!

For the past several years, I've been driving back and forth on the Tappan Zee Bridge. The new bridge has been constructed along side the original and it's been fascinating to watch the process. Now that more than half of the cables have been installed, it looks lovely. In contrast, the older bridge looked like a bad Erector Set construction.

One point that I'm interested in is the main towers that support the cables. They are made of reinforced concrete and the exterior finish is the raw, gray-colored concrete. I wonder if they'll put a facade on them.

The Kosciuszko Bridge has been so horrible that I would drive out of my way to avoid it. Plus, it, too, was horrendously ugly. The new span is beautifully elegant.

Now if they'd only fix the Cross Bronx Expressway....

[elleng]

2. Glad you're enjoying it. Been years since I've been there.

[Warpy]

3. Me, neither

The Tappan Zee bridge suffered from several problems, not the least of which the lack of available steel while it was being built during the Korean War. Many people thought it was in the wrong place, but the PTB wanted an easy hookup with major New England roads.

I'd have driven over anything to avoid going into the city via I-95, including going down the kaTHUNKkaTHUNK of the expansion joints on the old Taconic Parkway.