Contractor Sued Over Alleged Cable Flaws on Cuomo Bridge in New York

The contractor that built the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge is being sued by the New York State Thruway Authority over stay cables that failed to comply with design plans.

NYSTA filed a complaint August 22 in state Supreme Court against Tappan Zee Constructors, which finished constructing the $4 billion bridge in 2018. The suit alleges failure to ensure several components of the stay cables were contractually compliant. The Thruway Authority is demanding judgement on a minimum of $6 million in damages.

NYSTA claims Tappen Zee Constructors failed to perform the work suitably; failed to redo the work rejected by NYSTA’s project director as unacceptable and unsuitable; and failed to perform the work in compliance with the design plans and project specifications. 

Lohud reported on August 22 that the alleged issues involved "61 of 192 anchor pipes located at the point where cables on the bridge’s main span connect to the bridge’s support structure.”

A public statement from NYSTA reads:

"NYSTA and Tappan Zee Constructors (TZC) have a dispute regarding material compliance of several stay cable anchorage components. NYSTA asserts that these components are not contractually compliant and require remediation. TZC has disagreed and refused to act in accordance with their contract. To ensure contract compliance, NYSTA has filed a lawsuit to recover the costs of evaluation and remediation of these components.”

Independent experts have confirmed the finished bridge is safe, and the process of retrofitting the components in question has already begun “under the guidance of nation-leading experts in material science, engineering and design,” according to the Thruway Authority.

Tappen Zee Constructors is a multi-business entity consisting of Fluor Enterprises Inc., American Bridge Company, Granite Construction Northeast Inc. and Traylor Bros. Inc. Court records show the defendants do not yet have recorded legal representation.

The new bridge replaced the old Tappan Zee Bridge, a seven-lane, 3.03-mile structure built in 1955 over the Hudson River between South Nyack to Tarrytown, New York. The last portion of the Tappan Zee Bridge came down in 2019.

The new twin, cable-stayed Cuomo Bridge boasts eight lanes (plus two bus lanes) and is nearly 5 miles long. Work on the structure began in 2013.