Skip to main content
Scientific American
  • Cart 0
  • Forgot password?Loading
    Not yet registered?
  • |Newsletters
Advanced Search
  • Coronavirus
  • Health
  • Mind & Brain
  • Environment
  • Technology
  • Space & Physics
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Store
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • Cart0
  • Sign In
  • Newsletters
      • Share
      • Latest

      Popular Cable-Stay Bridges Rise across U.S. to Replace Crumbling Spans

      The new NY Bridge will replace a crumbling relic across New York's Hudson River with a flashy design called cable-stay that is gaining popularity with bridge engineers

      • Share on Facebook
      • Share on Twitter
      • Share on Reddit
      • Share on LinkedIn
      • Share via Email
      • Print
      Popular Cable-Stay Bridges Rise across U.S. to Replace Crumbling Spans
      Slideshow (6) images
      View

      Popular Cable-Stay Bridges Rise across U.S. to Replace Crumbling Spans

        • Share
      • STRONG AND STEADY ARMS Thirty-one barge-mounted cranes—each with its own name and credentials from previous work—are lined up next to the Tappan Zee Bridge, waiting to raise its replacement. Project managers have created an online tracking system so that passing boaters can monitor the location and direction of the project’s many moving pieces while navigating the Hudson. ... Image credit: Amy Nordrum
      • BRIDGE-BUILDING WONDERS AFLOAT  The I Lift NY Crane, formerly known as the Left Coast Lifter, is one of the world’s largest floating cranes. Operators paid $70,000 in tolls to pass it through the Panama Canal on their way to the Hudson River from its last project in San Francisco... Image credit: New York State Thruway Authority
      • A DEEP FOUNDATION The New NY Bridge will stand atop 1,000 steel pilings. The pilings measure 36 to 72 inches in diameter and are driven into the riverbed as deep as 380 feet in places. Some of the pilings will be capped with piers which will support the bridge’s four towers. ... Image credit: New York State Thruway Authority
      • MIX AND POUR This barge holds a mobile concrete factory or “floating batch plant”—one of two on the project site. The new bridge will require more than 300,000 cubic yards of concrete, which has a short shelf life before it dries... Image credit: New York State Thruway Authority
      • Advertisement
      • SIX OVERLOOKS  The completed bridge will feature a pedestrian walkway and bike path across the entire 3.1-mile span. This artist’s rendering depicts one of six overlooks along the way. The mirror that the man in front is looking at reflects the Manhattan skyline from across the bridge. ... Image credit: New York State Thruway Authority
      • CABLE-STAYED TOWERS An artist’s rendering of the New NY Bridge at night. The bridge features a cable-stay design built from the tension of 192 cables strung across four towers. Construction crews are working on a five-year timeline to complete the bridge by the spring of 2018... Image credit: New York State Thruway Authority
      • Previous
      • Next
      of
      • View all
      • Link copied!
      • STRONG AND STEADY ARMS
      • BRIDGE-BUILDING WONDERS AFLOAT 
      • A DEEP FOUNDATION
      • MIX AND POUR
      • SIX OVERLOOKS 
      • CABLE-STAYED TOWERS
      Advertisement
      Advertisement

      Newsletter

      Get smart. Sign up for our email newsletter.

      Sign Up

      Support Science Journalism

      Discover world-changing science. Explore our digital archive back to 1845, including articles by more than 150 Nobel Prize winners.

      Subscribe Now!Support Science Journalism

      Follow us

      • instagram
      • soundcloud
      • youtube
      • twitter
      • facebook
      • rss

      Scientific american arabic

      العربية
      • Return & Refund Policy
      • About
      • Press Room
      • FAQs
      • Contact Us
      • Site Map
      • Advertise
      • SA Custom Media
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • California Consumer Privacy Statement
      • Use of cookies/Do not sell my data
      • International Editions
      Scientific American is part of Springer Nature, which owns or has commercial relations with thousands of scientific publications (many of them can be found at www.springernature.com/us). Scientific American maintains a strict policy of editorial independence in reporting developments in science to our readers.

      © 2022 Scientific American, a Division of Springer Nature America, Inc.

      All Rights Reserved.

      Scroll To Top

      Support science journalism.

      Scientific American paper issue and on tablet

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Knowledge awaits.

      Already a subscriber? Sign in.

      Thanks for reading Scientific American. Create your free account or Sign in to continue.

      Create Account

      See Subscription Options

      Continue reading with a Scientific American subscription.

      You may cancel at any time.

      Sign in.