Tappan Zee Bridge

The Governor Malcolm Wilson–Tappan Zee Bridge, usually referred to as the Tappan Zee Bridge, is a cantilever bridge in the U.S. state of New York, crossing the Hudson River at one of its widest points; the Tappan Zee is named for an American Indian tribe from the area called "Tappan"; and zee being the Dutch word for "sea". As an integral conduit within the New York Metropolitan Area, it connects South Nyack in Rockland County with Tarrytown in Westchester County in the Lower Hudson Valley. Federal and state authorities are currently constructing a replacement bridge, the New Tappan Zee Bridge that will cost at least $4 billion.The bridge is part of the New York State Thruway mainline and carries the highway concurrency of Interstate 87 and Interstate 287. The span carries seven lanes of motor traffic. The center lane can be switched between eastbound and westbound traffic depending on the prevalent commuter direction; on weekdays the center lane is eastbound in the morning and westbound in the evening. The switch is accomplished via a movable center barrier which is moved by a pair of barrier transfer machines. Even with the switchable lane, traffic is frequently very slow. The bridge is one of the primary crossings of the Hudson River north of New York City; it carries much of the traffic between southern New England and points west of the Hudson. It is the longest bridge in the State of New York. The total length of the bridge and approaches is 16013ft. The cantilever span is 1212ft providing a maximum clearance of 138ft over the water. The bridge is about 25mi north of Midtown Manhattan, the skyline of which can be seen from the bridge on a clear day.