Today, the Editorial Board had a great discussion with New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Michael Fleischer and the Thurway Authority Hudson Valley Director Ramesh Mehta. You can view it here.

Lots of topics came up, but one big issue that’s looming is the continuation of the bridge panel and joint replacement project. In March/April, work on replacing joints on the bridge starts up, and with that work will come the thick metal plates used during summer and fall during the deck replacement work. Anyone who drove just once over them remembers them. They caused traffic backups, sometimes 12-15 miles during the morning rush from Rockland into Westchester. And, this time, because the joint replacement work is a little different, the plates used to cover the work during the repairs will be even thicker, Mehta noted. If you think that the inch-and-a-half plates caused headaches when drivers slowed for the big bump, imagine how traffic will flow (or not) in spring when the plates are 2 inches thick or more.

So, what are the plans for this work? Fleischer and Mehta pointed out that the Authority is thinking about various ways to do the work:

1. Work on all the joints and put the plates down at once, so it’s a shorter work window, but much more of a traffic impact.


2. Put down one plate at a time, of just a few, to ease the traffic cramps but have the overall project last longer.


3. Have the work take place from Friday night through Sunday afternoon, so the lanes are limited throughout the weekend, (two lanes each direction, most likely) but the weekday commute is more likely to be clear of plates.