The Port Authority plans to rehab an approach to the George Washington Bridge where large pieces of debris fell from the ceiling in two frightening incidents last May, documents published by the agency show.<\/p>\n
The Port Authority’s board is set to approve a $117.5 million contract during a meeting Thursday to fix the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, a 0.8-mile tunnel tucked beneath buildings in Upper Manhattan that connects to the bridge\u2019s lower roadway.<\/p>\n
A piece of metal fell from the roadway\u2019s ceiling on May 7 in an episode that was caught on camera by a driver who crashed into the debris<\/a>. Just six days later, a driver was hospitalized with injuries after a chunk of concrete fell from the ceiling onto their car<\/a>, officials said.<\/p>\n The Port Authority made emergency repairs to the expressway after those incidents, but the new contract aims to shore up the entire structure, including its concrete, steel joints, beams and walls.<\/p>\n \u201cThe structural elements at the [Trans-Manhattan Expressway] level have not undergone comprehensive rehabilitation since their original construction,\u201d the Port Authority documents state. The section of the road first opened to drivers in the early 1960s.<\/p>\n The documents stated the agency\u2019s engineers inspected the structure after the incidents in May and \u201cidentified deficiencies requiring immediate repairs and the acceleration of previously planned capital rehabilitation work.\u201d<\/p>\n The agency plans to begin construction on the long-term fixes next summer, and plan to wrap the work in 2030, according to the documents.<\/p>\n A Port Authority spokesperson said the agency can\u2019t comment on the project ahead of the agency\u2019s board\u2019s vote on the contract.<\/p>\n