NEW YORK (AP) – State and federal officials are investigating what caused a huge construction crane to collapse across the Tappan Zee Bridge north of New York City, an accident that somehow caused no serious injuries but added to a list of crane wrecks in recent years that have prompted initiatives to improve safety.
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Cuomo said the crane was performing routine work on the new Tappan Zee Bridge, driving pilings into the river bottom, and it was unclear what caused its boom to fall across the entire 90-foot, seven-lane width of the old bridge.
“It’s a miracle that the boom fell across six lanes of traffic, cars that are doing 60 to 70 miles an hour, and not one auto was hit by the boom”, the business manager of the union that represents crane operators told the Times.
Traffic on the Tappan Zee Bridge began to flow Tuesday evening, several hours after a large crane boom came crashing down across all lanes of the bridge.
No cars were hit during the incident just before noon on Tuesday, and Governor Andrew M Cuomo said, ‘This was nothing short of a miracle’. Officials are still urging drivers to seek alternate routes though, as delays are expected around the bridge.
Westchester-bound traffic on the State Thruway was slow in Rockland during this morning’s rush heading for the bridge.
Messages were left with Gov. Cuomo’s office and Tappan Zee Bridge Constructors, LLC. Commuters can also cross the Hudson River on the ferry between Ossining and Haverstraw.
Cuomo said that outside lane would remain closed during the Wednesday morning commute and could be closed for several days, pending further repairs.
An investigation is underway into why the crane collapsed.
Three people in vehicles suffered minor injuries.
The Coast Guard reported the crane operator was rescued from the water by Westchester County police, but other officials did not confirm this.
The crane was stationed on the deck of the new bridge, which is being built parallel to the old one, when its 250-foot-long boom collapsed.
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Rockland County Executive Ed Day wrote on Twitter that three people suffered minor injuries when vehicles swerved and stopped to avoid the wreckage, although the number was later updated to five.
