Rehabilitation of the North Spans of the Manhattan Bridge

Brief Overview

In 2001, Koch Skanska, Inc. began work on this $189 million contract from New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) for the rehabilitation of the north spans of the Manhattan Bridge.  The scheduled completion date is July 2004.

Construction of the 5,800-ft long bridge, which spans the East River between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan, was completed in 1909.  Unfortunately, years of neglect have caused rapid deterioration to this historical and architectural monument, forcing the New York City DOT to initiate a massive reconstruction program consisting of 12 contracts, the first of which began in 1982.  Currently, Koch Skanska is working on the tenth contract.

During the rehabilitation of the north spans, 18 million pounds of steel will be replaced as part of the north upper roadway and subway framing reconstruction.  Concurrent with the upper roadway replacement activities will be the erection of a new bikeway satisfying an increasing demand for bicycle and pedestrian travel over the East River.  Furthermore, the contract includes the installation of an Intelligent Transportation System that will serve as a direct link between the bridge and New York City's main traffic control center.

Comprised of two upper roadway decks, four New York City Transit tracks, and a three lane lower roadway, the Manhattan Bridge carries over 78,000 vehicles and 266,000 subway commuters each day.  This heavy activity has deemed the bridge "the most heavily traveled" of all the East River spans.  The north subway tracks are scheduled for reopening on January 31, 2004.