Hell On The Thruway: Traffic On TZB Demolition Day

NYACK, NY — Severe traffic delays are expected on I-87, I-287 and surrounding roadways in Rockland and Westchester counties Tuesday morning during the controlled demolition of the unstable anchor span of the old Tappan Zee Bridge.

Tappan Zee Constructors, the company that built the new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge and is in charge of bringing down the old one, rescheduled the work for Tuesday. That means the New York State Thruway will be closed for 45 minutes, assuming all goes as planned, starting at 10 a.m.

Drivers are being asked to avoid the area completely or take alternate routes. Buses won't run.

One former commuter over the bridge, Rockland County Executive Ed Day, said he disagreed with the timing of the demolition, rescheduled for the end of morning rush hour on a work day.

"Despite knowing how many cars are supposed to cross the bridge on any given day and time no weekday commute ever goes exactly as planned," Day said. "I hope that everything goes exactly as scheduled Tuesday morning but predicting a rush hour is like trying to catch water with your hands. If rush hour runs late we could end up with total regional gridlock."

About 140,000 vehicles cross the Tappan Zee every day.

According to Google, 10 a.m. is within the bridge's peak traffic time.

The closest bridges across the river are the George Washington Bridge to the south and the Bear Mountain Bridge to the north.

Most direct highway-only detour would be the Beacon-Newburgh Bridge, which connects I-84 with the Thruway, reachable on the east side of the river by the Taconic Parkway and I-684.

Then there are all the folks who take the bus between Rockland and Westchester. About 2,000 Rockland commuters cross the bridge on buses daily, for example. Hudson Link runs three bus routes.

Hudson Link has posted the service changes and warns riders to be prepared for delays. Basically, if you want to ride, catch a bus before 9 or wait until after 11 a.m.

Check the Hudson Link alerts for the exact schedules for all three bus lines.

Images via Google

SEE ALSO: What To Know About TZB Demolition: 5 Things