Weekend work on Twin Bridges completed, governor says

PHOTOGRAPHER: Steven Cook

Weekend work on the Northway’s Twin Bridges has been completed, just ahead of Memorial Day travel weekend, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced today.

Work on the southbound bridge began early last month, with workers replacing the bridge deck and making repairs to bearings, joints, steel stringers and concrete structure.

Similar work was completed last year on the northbound bridge.

In all, the work on both bridges cost the state $29 million. Each day, the Twin Bridges carry an estimated 100,000 vehicles over the Mohawk River. The bridges connect the towns of Halfmoon and Colonie.

While the work on the bridges is complete, work to remove the crossovers north and south of the bridge and demobilize equipment will continue, and may require overnight lane closures, officials said.

Work on both bridges — known officially at the Thaddeus Kosciuszko Bridge, after a Revolutionary War hero — was confined to weekends, with one bridge closed Friday evening and reopened for the Monday morning rush.

Last year’s work on the northbound bridge still caused significant backups over the weekends. The spring work on the southbound bridge went smoother with an additional driving lane open.

State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald called the bridges crucial to the area economy.

“The Twin Bridges, which carry more than 100,000 vehicles each day, are a vital commuting and tourism corridor for people from the Capital District and beyond, as well as a critical commercial truck route to move goods between Canada and Western New York, New York City and the mid-Atlantic,” McDonald said in a news release.

The bridge work was done as part of the New York Works program, aimed at repairing critical infrastructure and improving the condition of bridges in the state. Work was done by Lane Construction Corporation, of Cheshire, Conn.