Based on discussions with New Rochelle City Manager Chuck Strome, Council Member Ivar Hyden, State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins and John Tomlin, her chief of staff, Talk of the Sound can report that the New York State Thruway Authority will close the North Avenue Bridge near the New Rochelle Transit Center for about three months next summer.
According to Tomlin, the Thruway Authority expected to complete a “replacement bridge” before bidding out the work in September 2014.
The “real” bridge would be completed by the end of 2015 or early 2016.
According to City Manager Chuck Strome, the Thruway Authority said the bridge replacement is scheduled for the 2015 season, which runs April thru November.
“The plan is to allow the contractor a 12-week closure of North Avenue in the summer in the vicinity of the bridge to remove the existing superstructure and install the proposed superstructure,” said Strome.
The contractor will be performing the rest of the project work in the Spring and Fall, so the overall project will be completed in an 8-month time frame.
The New York State Thruway Authority will work with City officials in developing Preliminary Plans to keep them in the loop.
The City of New Rochelle has further information on the City website:
WHAT: Traffic and pedestrian disruptions during the estimated 18-month North Avenue Utility Bridge Relocation Project, during which there will be a major relocation of Utility lines.
WHERE: North Avenue, especially at the instersections of Burling Lane, Garden Street and Station Plaza North
WHEN: Due to the North Avenue Construction Project, motor vehicle traffic will be prohibited from entering the Transit Center Garage and Train Station from North Avenue beginning Monday September 10, 2012. It is anticipated that this access prohibition will last for 1 month.
Detour Routes as follows:
Patrons traveling from the south should use Memorial Highway and then take Division Street to Station Plaza North
Patrons traveling from the north should use Lockwood Avenue or Lincoln Avenue to Memorial Highway then take Division Street to Station Plaza NorthCOMMUTER PARKING ALTERNATIVES
To assist commuters who park in the area, beginning April 15 the City of New Rochelle will allow permit holders for the Garden Street North and Garden Street South lots and for the Transit Center Garage to have the option to also park on the fifth level in the New Roc Garage from Monday to Friday until further notice.
Parkers must be certain to use only the fifth floor as violations will be written for those non-New Roc permit holders who park on other levels or on weekends. Permit parkers will be notified when the disruption in traffic flow from construction has subsided and regular permits will no longer be valid at the New Roc Garage.
WHO: This is a New York State Thruway Authority Project. Additional information at www.thruway.ny.gov
DETAILS: This project relocates electric, cable, telephone, water, fiber optic, and natural gas lines from the existing North Avenue Bridge to a parallel span that was constructed in 2010. The work on the utility lines is expected to be completed by May 2013, conditions permitting.
The next phase of the project, the demolition and replacement of the North Avenue Bridge, is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2015.