NYS Thruway Sues Cuomo Bridge Builders

By Idy Perl

The NYS Thruway is suing the builders of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge for breaching their contract. 

The agency is claiming that the builders didn't uphold the standards that were put in the contract to ensure that the bridge will be able to withstand the wear and tear that comes with time. They say they will have to inspect the entire bridge and replace and fix the parts that are below standard. 

Thruway officials did assure the public that the bridge is safe, but long term maintenance of the bridge will now be more costly due to substandard materials and methods that were used during construction. 

*Rockland Daily received the following update from a Thruway spokesperson: 

"The New York State Thruway Authority (NYSTA) is committed to ensuring contractor compliance to guarantee the toll payers get what they paid for in the construction of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, which independent experts have confirmed is safe. NYSTA and Tappan Zee Constructors (TZC) have a dispute regarding material compliance of several stay cable anchorage components. NYSTA asserts that these components are not contractually compliant and require remediation. TZC has disagreed and refused to act in accordance with their contract. To ensure contract compliance, NYSTA has filed a lawsuit to recover the costs of evaluation and remediation of these components. Simultaneously, NYSTA has begun the process to retrofit these components, under the guidance of nation-leading experts in material science, engineering and design. NYSTA has also commissioned a full independent safety review of the GMMCB, which determined that the retrofit of the components is necessary to ensure their durability and full service life that toll payers paid for.”