$95 Million Newburgh-Beacon Bridge Project To Replace Deck Reaches ‘Historic’ Milestone
NEWBURGH – The New York State Bridge Authority announced on Sept. 30 the construction work that affected travelers crossing the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge finished early—nine months ahead of schedule. The $95 million re-decking project, which began in late 2020, is now being celebrated by state and regional officials as the largest bridge project of its kind in the history of the New York State Bridge Authority.
The north span of the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is the older of the dual spans and carries westbound I-84 traffic across the Hudson River. The crossing is operated by the New York State Bridge Authority, which oversaw and funded the project through its capital improvement program. The work delivered a new road surface to the north deck span to improve safety and driving conditions.
First opened in 1963, the last deck replacement on the north span took place in the early 1980s, shortly after the south span of the Newburgh-Beacon was opened. The south span of the Newburgh-Beacon had its deck replaced
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEW YORK BRIDGE AUTHORITY
between 2012 and 2014. Since the start of the re-decking project in December 2020, most traffic was routed onto the wider south span, apart from some westbound traffic coming from Route 9D. Originally scheduled for completion in summer 2023, the construction timeline was moved up to allow for traffic to fully return to the north span months ahead of schedule. Some residual work, mainly below the deck, will take place through June 2023.
The work is being completed by CIC-member Yonkers Contracting Co. In addition to the base bid of $95 million for deck replacement, Yonkers Contracting did an additional $6.8 million project to install structural elements for the bridge’s conversion to cashless tolling, which took place in July 2021. In total, the $101.8-million contract with Yonkers Contracting is the largest capital contract in the Bridge Authority’s history. While the project was underway, concrete was poured in place on the bridge, rather than having the contractor install pre-poured panels of concrete on the bridge, which eliminates joints between panels and ensures a better finished product. The new deck was topped with an asphalt overlay to help maximize the life of the new deck. The deck replacement of the Newburgh-Beacon north span caps off a decade-long period of multiple, significant improvements to the Bridge Authority’s most traveled crossing.
In addition to the south span deck replacement between 2012 and 2014, the Bridge Authority completed a rehabilitation of the I-84 overpass over Route 9W in 2019 and the implementation of cashless tolling in 2021. New York State Bridge Authority Executive Director Dr. Minosca-Alcantara said, “As a once-in-a-generation project, these new bridge decks will continue to faithfully serve commuters, drivers and truckers in the Hudson Valley for the next 30 to 40 years.”
New York State Bridge Authority Board of Commissioners Chair Joan McDonald said, “The Newburgh-Beacon Bridge re-decking project has been a signature undertaking for the New York State Bridge Authority. The Bridge Authority’s staff and contractors have risen to the challenge of completing the project.”
The New York State Bridge Authority operates the Bear Mountain, Newburgh-Beacon, Mid-Hudson, Kingston-Rhinecliff and Rip Van Winkle bridges. It also owns and maintains the structure of the Walkway Over the Hudson pedestrian bridge. The Authority is funded principally from bridge tolls and receives no state or federal tax monies for bridge maintenance and operation.