MTA Board Awards Contract for New Ellison Ave. Bridge to LI Firm
Westbury, NY - December 17th, 2014 - The Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority today awarded a contract for the design and construction of a new bridge over the railroad tracks at Ellison Avenue in Westbury to Posillico Civil Inc., a Farmingdale, L.I.-based construction firm.
The $7 million contract was awarded to Posillico after the LIRR determined that the firm’s proposal was the best among those submitted by three companies. The project is scheduled to get underway in January. Completion is expected in 2016.
“The Long Island Rail Road has worked closely with State Senator Jack Martins (R- Nassau) and Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro to move this project forward,” said LIRR President Patrick A. Nowakowski. ”We are grateful for their help and delighted the MTA Board has given us a green light.”
State Senator Martins said: “Approving this contract is more welcome news for the Westbury/Carle Place community. After a decades-long wait, we continue to see real progress being made in replacing one of Long Island's worst-rated bridges. The need for this project and the benefits that come with it, including improved safety, new jobs, and economic development, are unquestionable. The finish line continues to get closer, and I thank the MTA LIRR for continuing to move forward on this project, as well as Mayor Cavallaro and the Village of Westbury for their strong advocacy."
Mayor Cavallaro said: “We are pleased that the LIRR is addressing the deterioration of the bridge, which we have long sought to address.”
The Ellison Avenue Bridge was originally built by the LIRR as an overpass in 1896, and was rebuilt in 1941 as a two-lane roadway bridge with pedestrian sidewalks on both sides. The roadway deck of the bridge is in poor condition and in need of replacement. The existing 3-span bridge (including piers and abutments) will be completely demolished and replaced with a pre-stressed concrete bridge.
TThe project, one of several MTA investments into the LIRR’s busy Main Line Corridor, will be covered by a Project Labor Agreement with local trade unions that is designed to lower construction costs while helping to promote the use of local unionized labor forces. Some 40 percent of the LIRR’s daily ridership passes along the Main Line Corridor, where trains from five branches of the Railroad converge every day.