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Filed Under:Brian Conybeare, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hudson River, Nyack, Nyack High School, Paul Murnane, Tappan Zee Bridge, Tarrytown
The Tappan Zee Bridge is seen from Tarrytown - Feb. 5, 2013 (credit: Paul Murnane / WCBS 880)The Tappan Zee Bridge is seen from Tarrytown - Feb. 5, 2013 (credit: Paul Murnane / WCBS 880)

TARRYTOWN, N.Y. CBSNewYork) – The “old” Tappan Zee Bridge will be out of commission in 2016. That is one piece of new information that came out in a meeting Monday night in Tarrytown.

There’s no timetable for an official groundbreaking, but Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s adviser on the project, Brian Conybeare, said the span’s design build team would like to have staging areas and other assets in the area starting in March.

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Conybeare said the plan is for test pile-driving in June and for dredging to commence in August.

Twin spans are planned for this $3 billion project.

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“Once the new northern span is fully completed in about 2016, all traffic will be shifted off the old Tappen Zee Bridge on to the new northern span,” he told WCBS 880 reporter Paul Murnane.

Demolition would begin on the original and the new southern span would be complete in 2018.

The new spans will be, for the most part, built from the center of the Hudson River to its shorelines.

“The idea is to use the same landing areas and minimize property takings on either side,” Conybeare said. “We want to minimize the impact that this project is having.”

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A public meeting on the bridge replacement is scheduled for 7 p.m. tonight at Nyack High School.