Roosevelt Island Bridge Pedestrian Sidewalk Will be Temporarily Relocated

From RIOC's Closures and Advisories web page:

Roosevelt Island Bridge - Ongoing Project

The Roosevelt Island Bridge pedestrian sidewalk will be relocated on or about Monday, December 3, 2007

Beginning on or about Monday, December 3, 2007, the New York City Department of Transportation, Division of Bridges will begin performing the temporary relocation of the pedestrian sidewalk of the Roosevelt Island Bridge.

An alternate pedestrian path will be located on the Roosevelt Island Bridge roadway in which concrete barriers will provide safety by separating pedestrians from vehicular traffic. In addition, two ADA compliant ramps will be constructed to mitigate the height differential between the sidewalk and the roadway.

This closure is necessary for the building of the containment system for painting activities.

This relocation will be in place for approximately three months, until painting activities conclude.

As part of their rehabilitation effort of the Roosevelt Island Bridge, the New York City Department of Transportation
has advised us that beginning Tuesday October 9, 2007 and continuing until further notice, there will be a partial lane closure of the east (Astoria) bound lane, Mondays thru Fridays from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM.

Two way traffic will be maintained over two reduced width lanes.
The effect will be reduced traffic speed over the bridge that may contribute to minor delays.

NYCDOT promises to keep us advised of any future actions that they take which will affect bridge use.

More on the Roosevelt Island Bridge from NYC Roads.

Type of bridge - Vertical lift
Construction started - March 17, 1952
Opened to traffic - May 18, 1955
Length of main lift span - 418 feet
Total length of bridge and viaduct approaches - 2,877 feet
Width of bridge - 40 feet
Number of traffic lanes - 2 lanes
Clearance over mean high water (closed position) - 40 feet
Clearance over mean high water (open position) - 100 feet
Height of towers - 170 feet
Structural steel used in lift span - 1,000 tons
Structural steel used in bridge and approaches - 3000 tons
Number of cables used in lift cables - 48 cables
Diameter of each cable - 12 3/8 inches
Strength of each cable - 200 tons
Cost of original structure - $6,500,000