Tappan Zee Bridge
Written by
Theresa Juva-Brown
Finally, some holiday cheer for commuters.
A ramp in Tarrytown closed since Dec. 5 for the Tappan Zee Bridge project will be temporarily reopened starting Thursday evening and remain open until January.
The change announced Wednesday comes after a string of hellish travel days in the region that were made worse by the shutdown of the westbound New York State Thruway ramp on Route 9, state officials acknowledged.
“The closure of the ramp may not have been the direct cause of the traffic tie-ups, but we want to do all we can to help travelers get to their destinations safely during the holidays,” said Brian Conybeare, special adviser to the Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the Tappan Zee project.
With the ramp closed, traffic heading northwest had been directed to Route 119, about a quarter-mile detour, to get to the bridge. Officials have said the ramp area needs to be used for construction equipment for the new bridge.
Conybeare said major backups on Route 9 were reported Dec. 13 and early this week, when there was bad weather, multiple crashes on the Tappan Zee and increased traffic on the bridge due to emergency repairs on the George Washington Bridge.
On Monday there was a 14 percent jump in Tappan Zee volume compared to the same day last year, state officials told The Journal News.
Valley Cottage resident Alyssa Sunkin, 28, said she sat in hour-plus delays this week while trying to get from the Tarrytown train station to Rockland on Tappan ZEExpress.
“We’re thankful they are listening to our concerns and addressing them, but we will see what happens in January when they close the ramp again,” said Sunkin, who complained to Thruway officials. “If it is in fact that the ramp closure that’s the cause of the massive delays, they need to find a solution.”
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