Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Parts for Temporary Bridge Arrive at City Island

By Eddie Small | December 30, 2014 7:44pm
 Parts for the temporary City Island Bridge arrived at the island on Tuesday.
City Island Bridge Installation
View Full Caption

CITY ISLAND — Parts for the new temporary City Island Bridge were shipped up to replace the current bridge Tuesday.

The first set of bridge spans, along with some miscellaneous pieces, were brought to the island from the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Tuesday, and the bridge will continue to be assembled and installed on site, according to the Department of Transportation.

The DOT started barging up segments of the temporary bridge over the past two weeks, and the department hopes to have it fully installed and ready for use within the next six to eight weeks.

Construction on the permanent new bridge should begin before the end of 2015 and be completed by 2016, and the temporary and permanent new bridges will both link City Island to Pelham Bay Park, just like the current one, according to Barbara Dolensek, an officer of the City Island Civic Association (CICA).

The Bloomberg administration had wanted to install a cable-stayed bridge in place of the old City Island Bridge, but locals strongly opposed this idea, Dolensek said.

Residents and elected officials managed to extend the fight over the bridge's design into the de Blasio administration, which Dolensek said changed the design of the bridge to a causeway style that was more acceptable to the neighborhood.

John Doyle, corresponding secretary of the CICA, was pleased that the temporary bridge was on its way.

“It's a tremendous step forward towards getting our new (and more appropriate) bridge constructed,” he said in an email. “The fact that DOT arranged for installation in the winter (as opposed to summer, when we have legendary traffic) is also appreciated.”

Dolensek was more reserved.

“I suspect Islanders were hoping for a bridge to come fully formed from Brooklyn,” she said in an email, “but that’s not what is happening.”