The Rise and Fall of Cantilever Bridges
By Henry Petroski
Spans built around the middle of the 20th century are coming to the end of their planned lives and being replaced by more modern designs.
This Article From Issue
November-December 2018
Volume 106, Number 6
Page 336
Earlier this year, a new bridge across the stretch of the Hudson River known as the Tappan Zee was fully opened to traffic. After almost a decade and a half of discussion and planning and about five years of building, the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge finally stood without the surrounding clutter of scaffolding, barges, floating cranes, and other appurtenances of construction over water. The $4 billion megaproject that resulted in what has been called “the largest bridge in New York State history” was finally free of the visual distractions that can actually dominate the appearance of a new structure being erected. Well, almost. Remains of the original crossing, long known simply as the Tappan Zee Bridge but since 1994 officially named the Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge, still stood beside its replacement.
New York State Thruway Authority
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