Seventy years ago today, cars began crossing the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge.

At the opening ceremony, on April 29, 1939, Robert Moses proclaimed it “The finest suspension bridge of them all.” That was a bold claim, considering, Read more of this entry »

The incandescent bulb is gone from Grand Central Terminal.

Opened in 1913, the station was designed to show off how many bulbs it used — a point of pride when electricity was a novelty, but not the greatest attribute now that conservation is the goal.

So today, electricians Read more of this entry »

Drivers who travel the Tappan Zee Bridge tomorrow will find the new-and-improved metal construction plates featuring 100-foot asphalt ramps at two spots in the Rockland-bound lanes.

On Sunday, drivers heading toward Westchester will also pass over the plates and ramps.

The plates, needed to replace 10 joints on the bridge, will be around until late August/early September.

To ease their ride and avoid last year’s traffic nightmares, the company hired by the state Thruway Authority will be building 50-foot-long ramps both leading to the plates as well as away from them.

In case you missed it, Journal News columnist Bob Baird today writes about how New Jersey Transit has gone ahead and repaired a fence along its railroad tracks in Spring Valley. Click here to read his column.

Bob’s column two weeks ago prompted Sen. Charles Schumer to get involved last week, and, ultimately, resulted in the fix.

Schumer sent a letter to NJ Transit executive director Richard Sarles calling on the transit agency to quickly make the repairs, schedule regular inspections of the fence and replace multi-lingual signs along the tracks, and consider adding pictures of graphics to make them easier to understand. Many people in the area don’t speak English and use the tracks as a shortcut, on which 13 people have died since 1985.

The state Department of Transportation will be closing the deteriorating James A. Farley Memorial Bridge on Route 9W in Stony Point at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

The 86-year-old bridge will remain closed until December while it is rebuilt.

As a result, all traffic will be forced to use local roads:

• All southbound traffic will be detoured along Lowland Hill Road.

• Northbound passenger vehicles and vehicles weighing less than five tons will be detoured along County Route 106, Reservoir Road, and West Main Street.

• Northbound trucks and vehicles weighing five tons or more will be detoured along Railroad Avenue, Grassy Point Road and East Main Street.

Harrison & Burrowes Bridge Construction, of Glenmont, N.Y., was hired to do the $11 million bridge-replacement work. The contractor will demolish the bridge and start building the piers for a new span over Cedar Brook Pond by early September.

Stony Point Town Supervisor Phil Marino has said the bridge could reopen as early as mid-October but DOT officials are sticking with the December time frame.

Last July, in-depth inspections revealed serious corrosion on the steel structure of the bridge. Following repairs over the summer, the bridge was converted to serve one-way, alternating traffic, and the weight restrictions were lifted to allow most truck traffic.

Follow the status of the project at this DOT-created Web site.

Improvements to the Tarrytown, Croton-Harmon and Peekskill train stations, bus and van purchases in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland counties and power improvements to Metro-North’s Harlem and Hudson lines are among the transit projects eligible to receive millions of dollars in federal stimulus money.

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council will hold a public hearing to accept comments on the projects tomorrow at the Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave., White Plains.

People may comment from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.; all registered speakers will be given three minutes.

Detailed information on the regional transit projects proposed funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is available at www.nymtc.org.

The comment period ends at 4 p.m. on April 29.

Comments are due in writing and may be mailed to NYMTC, 199 Water Street, 22nd Floor, New York, NY 10038-3534; e-mailed to NYMTC-Public-Info@dot.state.ny.us; or faxed to 212-383-7266.

Due to rain this past Wednesday, the work to install metal construction plates and asphalt ramps on the Tappan Zee Bridge has been pushed back to next Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25.

Ted Nadratowski, the state Thruway Authority’s New York division director, said this morning that the work had been expected to be completed tonight and tomorrow night. In fact, signs near the bridge informed drivers during the day on Wednesday that the plates would be in place within a few days.

But rain that night delayed the work, which will see the addition of asphalt ramps of about 50 feet in length.

The ramps will lead up to steel plates on two modular joints — one located at the midpoint on the main span and one on the west deck truss of the bridge. The  ramps will cover the entire width of the bridge at each bridge joint location and will gradually thicken until the ramp is flush with the top of the roadway plates.

The asphalt ramps are expected to provide a smooth transition over the plates, in hopes of avoiding the long delays the plates caused last year by allowing drivers to travel at reasonable speeds.

There will still be work on the bridge tonight.

Work will begin at 10 p.m. resulting in the closure of two left Rockland-bound lanes, to three lanes at midnight until 8 a.m. from Interchange 10 to the east deck truss on the Tappan Zee Bridge. Due to the lane closures, the entrance ramp from Broadway (southbound) in Tarrytown will also be closed from 10 p.m. until 8 a.m. All traffic will be detoured to the entrance ramp from Route 119.

No work scheduled is scheduled for Saturday.

The state Thruway Authority and the State Police Troop T next week will step up enforcement of the state law’s prohibiting the use of cell phones while driving.

“Operation Hang Up” begins Tuesday and runs through Friday.

In 2008, Troop T patrols issued 5,403 tickets to Thruway drivers violating the cell-phone law.

State law prohibits the use of a hand-held mobile telephone while one is driving except to call 911 or to contact medical, fire or police personnel about an emergency.

Violators who are ticketed face a maximum fine of $100, along with a mandatory $60 surcharge.

President Barack Obama new plan for high speed rail across the country includes as one leg Amtrak’s Empire Line through the Lower Hudson Valley.

The line comes up the eastern shore of the Hudson River from New York to Albany and continues to Buffalo.

Check out the plans here.

Obama proposes $8 billion in stimulus Read more of this entry »

The New York Metropolitan Transportation Council may not exactly be a household name but it does important, far-reaching work in our region when it comes to planning.

The video below covers 10 desired “growth areas” in the Lower Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island that the group, and leaders in the area, want to focus on during the coming years.

The big one for us is the development of the Interstate 287 corridor in Rockland and Westchester, which, of course, involves a suitable replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge and building new mass transit.

SPRING VALLEY — New Jersey Transit should inspect and fix a fence, and step up inspections along its rail tracks in the village, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said today.

The tracks along Lawrence Street have a deadly history. Used a shortcut by some residents, 13 people have died there since 1985.

In 2002, Schumer, D-N.Y., successfully pressured NJ Transit to build fences along the single track, and add warning signage.

Last Thursday, Journal News columnist Bob Baird reported in his column that there are still several holes under the $410,000 fence, and one near Valley Drive that is large enough for a person to easily fit through.

In response, Schumer today wrote to NJ Transit executive director Richard Sarles calling on the transit agency to quickly make the repairs, schedule regular inspections of the fence and replace multi-lingual signs along the tracks, and consider adding pictures of graphics to make them easier to understand. Many people in the area don’t speak English and use the tracks as a shortcut. Read more of this entry »

If you’re looking for your friendly, neighborhood E-ZPass office in Spring Valley, don’t bother.

The office is now located a mile away at the Rockland Plaza in Nanuet.

The new walk-in center opened on March 23, but most people are finding out only after they show up to the old location at the Pascack Plaza on Perlman Drive. There are four signs taped to the door stating the office is closed, and one informing customers where the new office is located.

From 9:30 and 10 this morning, six people showed up to the Spring Valley site.

John Intonato, who drove from his home in Valley Cottage, was one of them.

“It would have been nice if we were notified,” Intonato said. “It’s just a common courtesy.”

The new address is listed on the home page of the E-ZPass New York Web site, and its information hotline – 1-800-333-8655 – has the updated information with directions. But several customers said it would have been nice to have received a message with their monthly statements, which are sent via email or snail mail.

At the new location, several people interviewed said they were coming from the Spring Valley site.

Two women mentioned they had heard through friends about the Nanuet location.

While the places may be different, some things never change: the computers were down this morning.

On Friday and Saturday nights, the company hired by the state Thruway Authority will begin installing asphalt transition ramps of about 50 feet in length on the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The ramps will lead up to steel plates on two modular joints — one located at the midpoint on the main span and one on the west deck truss of the bridge.

The transition ramps will cover the entire width of the bridge at each bridge joint location and will gradually thicken until the ramp is flush with the top of the roadway plates, the authority said.

The asphalt ramps are expected to provide a smooth transition over the plates, in hopes of avoiding the long delays the plates caused last year by allowing drivers to travel at reasonable speeds. The $147 million joint and deck replacement project is expected to wrap up in August.

New Jersey Transit train riders are invited to ask questions and offer comments over the Web with William B. Duggan, the agency’s vice president and general manager of rail operations.

The chat takes place this Wednesday, from noon until 1 p.m.

To join, log on to www.njtransit.com shortly before noon on Wednesday and click on the web chat icon on the home page.

Customers can also submit questions in advance by visiting the Web site.

Metro-North Railroad contracts with NJ Transit to provide rail service in Rockland and Orange counties.

If you’ve got a ride you think other people would enjoy seeing, check this out.

Wyeth Pharmaceuticals will host a car and bike show from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 17, at its campus located at 401 N. Middletown Road in Pearl River.

The show is open to all models of cars, trucks and motorcycles.

Trophies will be awarded in the following classes: best custom, best nostalgic, best stock, best of show and people’s choice.

The cost for pre-registration is $15. After May 8 or on the day of the show registration, the cost will be $20.

All proceeds will benefit Meals on Wheels Programs and Services of Rockland and the United Way of Rockland County.

The event is free to the public, who will vote for  their favorite vehicle.

The event’s rain date is June 7.

For more information or to pre-register a car, contact Maureen Kloek at 845-602-1265 or email her at kloekm@wyeth.com.