“This is an excellent idea,” said Sylvia Simon. “What a great way to view the construction."
They came across RiverWalk Park’s new Tappan Zee Bridge construction viewing platform after they had a meal in Tarrytown on Friday, Oct. 3.
A group of about five others stood and took pictures from inside the viewing area’s rounded stone structure. The viewing platform is accessible to those with disabilities and is located near the entrance of RiverWalk Park, located at 250 W. Main Street in Tarrytown.
There are two high-powered binoculars onsite: one inside the rounded structure and one outside. The rounded stone wall is also home to informational signage about the Tappan Zee Bridge construction and its design elements. It also includes a “Spotter’s Guide” so people can identify what they are looking at whether it’s a lift, a crane or a barge.
“I think it’s another amenity people are going to be interested in,” said Tarrytown Village Administrator Mike Blau. “It gives them the ability to see what’s going on out there. It’s (the construction) not something you can see that well from land.”
The New York State Thruway Authority and the bridge’s builders, Tappan Zee Constructors, paid for the project with a $49,500 community benefit grant. Nyack was also given a grant to build their own viewing area.
Blau said the Village just put a bid out for benches that will be added to the inside of the rounded viewing area with the remaining $8,500 left in grant funding.
Walter Simon said he was pleased by the “people approach” the Tappan Zee Bridge Constructors have taken.
“This is a big shift from the Robert Moses error of construction where construction came first and people came second,” Simon told Daily Voice. “Here you have something that is great, and involves people and brings them together.”
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