Crane collapse on US bridge project

A crane collapsed over the Tappan Zee Bridge in the US on July 19th. Construction work is being carried out on the bridge. The structure is located in Tarrytown, New York State and the bridge is around 40km north of central Manhattan, spanning the Hudson River at one of its widest points. The crane was being used for the construction work and collapsed right across the roadway and in front of vehicles using the crossing. A number of vehicles were damaged in the incident and local news reports suggest up to
July 20, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A crane collapsed over the Tappan Zee Bridge in the US on July 19th. Construction work is being carried out on the bridge. The structure is located in Tarrytown, New York State and the bridge is around 40km north of central Manhattan, spanning the Hudson River at one of its widest points. The crane was being used for the construction work and collapsed right across the roadway and in front of vehicles using the crossing. A number of vehicles were damaged in the incident and local news reports suggest up to five people were injured, including vehicle occupants and one construction worker. The injuries are not thought to be serious however. Some vehicles were hit by falling debris while a number of others were involved in a shunt as they braked to avoid the wreckage.

The crane was driving piles for the new bridge, which has been under construction for three years. It is not clear at this stage what caused the crane to collapse however while the machine has been reported by local news outlets as being comparatively new.

The incident caused major traffic delays for drivers until the wreckage of the crane could be cleared to one side. Some drivers were forced to spend several hours sitting in their stalled vehicles on the bridge until they could be rediverted.

The new bridge should be complete in 2018 and its construction is costing in the area of US$3.9 billion. It will replace the existing structure which was built in 1955 and carries up to 138,000 vehicles/day, including a high percentage of heavy trucks, but is no longer able to cope with traffic demand.
Road Structures

Related Content

  • Temporary bridges after Tretten collapse
    August 22, 2022
    The 150m-long, 10m-wide Tretten Bridge - only a decade old - broke in two, collapsing into the river stranding two vehicles and their occupants.
    Read More
  • Concern over condition of US bridges
    July 5, 2019
    A new report from the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), highlighting the poor condition of many US bridges, is nothing less than a national scandal. According to ARTBA’s report, 47,052 US bridges are in poor condition, while 18,842 Interstate highway bridges have identifiable repair needs. The length of America’s structurally deficient bridges if placed end-to-end would span nearly 1,760km, ARTBA’s examination of federal government data shows. The Brooklyn (NY), Arlington M
    Read More
  • New international trade crossing linking Canada and US
    June 9, 2015
    The Detroit River is short, only 45km, and narrow in places, less than 1km. Around a quarter of the annual $658 billion Canada-US trade crosses over the river. That’s $160 billion worth of goods trucked each year between Detroit in the US state of Michigan and the Canadian city of Windsor in the province of Ontario - the Windsor-Detroit Corridor. There are several types of crossings, but the vast majority of commercial traffic must use the 2.3km Ambassador Bridge (see box). A new bridge was initially prop
    Read More
  • Fatal bridge demolition incident in US
    January 20, 2015
    A fatal bridge collapse occurred in the US State of Ohio. The structure was under demolition when it collapsed. A demolition job was being carried out on the bridge when it collapsed unexpectedly, killing one of the workers in the process. A truck crashed into the debris as it collapsed but its driver escaped serious Injury. The bridge was located on I-75, close to the city of Cincinnati. The problem of ageing bridge structures is serious in the US and in Ohio, around one in five bridges are in need of replacement.
    Read More

Highlighted Content