[NYguy]

http://www.lohud.com/article/2013032...ker-tower-tops

Tappan Zee: Public prefers sleeker tower tops





March 21, 2013
Written by Theresa Juva-Brown

It’s clear which tower-top design the public wants to see on the new Tappan Zee Bridge.

Diagonally cut tower tops that would soar 419 feet above the water were the overwhelming favorite among 220 comments the state received from the public, officials said Thursday. It was also what the state’s bridge aesthetic panel had recommended.

Last week, the state asked the public to weigh in on two tower-top designs for the new 3-mile span. People viewed drawings on NewNYBridge.com and submitted comments.

The chosen design, which will give the bridge a sleeker look, will cost roughly $2 million more than Tappan Zee Constructors’ original proposal but won’t require changes to the construction project schedule or the remaining structure, state officials say. Tappan Zee Constructors’ original plan had called for block-shaped tower tops that would rise 409 feet above the water.

“Gov. (Andrew) Cuomo has made it clear that transparency and public input must play a key role in the construction of the New New York Bridge,” said the panel’s chairman, Brian Conybeare, who is also Cuomo’s special adviser on the project. “The success of this process has reinforced that the (panel) is essential in both achieving this goal and giving Hudson Valley residents a bridge they can be proud of.”