Contractors have been chosen for a large restoration project that will fix two aging bridges in the upstate New York area. The Albany Times-Union reports the $29 million project has gone to Lane Construction Corporation of Connecticut.
The Thaddeus Kosciusko Bridge, commonly referred to by locals as the Twin Bridges, are a pair of identical arch steel bridges spanning across the Mohawk River in upstate New York. The bridges connect Saratoga and Albany counties in the state's Capital Region and see quite a bit of use.
Due to the nature of the bridges, construction delays are not anticipated to be a major problem. While the construction crews use cranes to replace the deck on one bridge, the other bridge will be split into northbound and southbound lanes. Once the first bridge is completed, it will handle both directions of traffic while the work is completed on the second bridge. Closures will only take place on weekends.
Officials say construction will begin after Labor Day in order to account for heavy summer traffic over the bridge. Saratoga is famous for its racetrack, and the bridges are often swamped on racing days. Construction will start in the fall and is expected to be completed by mid-2013, so it won't interfere with any racing weekends.
Lane Construction has reportedly subcontracted STS Steel of Schenectady and Fort Miller of Schuylerville. STS will be building the steel frames for the bridge, while Fort Miller will make the concrete decks.
"We're very excited about it. It's a very accelerated schedule," Glenn Tabolt, president of STS Steel, told the news source. "We're going to be working hard."
Construction companies hoping to be chosen for major projects need to be sure they have the right construction equipment to get the job done. The online auction site IronPlanet offers a wide array of concrete equipment, dump loaders and much more, often at more affordable prices than buying new.
