Last section of old Tappan Zee Bridge removed

ALBANY, N.Y. – The last section of the old Tappan Zee Bridge has been hauled away for disassembly.

Crews began lowering the 600-foot (185-meter), 5,500-ton (5,590-metric ton) section on Thursday. Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office says Monday that barges were used to transport the final piece of the bridge offsite where it will be broken down.

Meanwhile, crews are working to raise and salvage pieces of the bridge that fell into the Hudson during an earlier explosive demolition.

The old bridge opened in 1955 about 30 miles (48 kilometres) north of New York City to link Westchester and Rockland counties. The span underscored America’s aging infrastructure before Cuomo pushed through plans for its replacement, named the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge after his father, the late governor.

The nearly $4 billion Cuomo bridge fully opened to traffic last year.