Farewell, Old Tap

A blurry view through the windshield of a rental car on the Tappan Zee Bridge, at approximately 4:45 a.m.,  2012

Part of the Tappan Zee Bridge just imploded into the Hudson River. The eastern part of the superstructure was detonated before 11 a.m.

The piece of me that has watched countless implosions shrugged my shoulders.

The piece of me that commuted over it for a stretch and sat in myriad jams on it was wistful.

To many, it's a road. It's just a bridge. Who cares about what we call the new one?

That's actually one of those things that I've debated with strangers on the interwebs about.

I know ol' Andy in Albany decided to name the structure after his pops, with little regard for former Gov. Malcolm Wilson, whom the old bridge was named after.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo showed little to no regard for the history of the region, and the fact that the body of water that the new bridge crosses is indeed the Tappan Zee portion of the Hudson River.

In his push for daddy to get the bridge named after him, ol' Andy pushed the name change though with limited input, though it seemed obvious something was up when the name of the new crossing was "The New NY Bridge."

Stubbornly, it will remain the Tappan Zee Bridge to me, just as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, Triborough Bridge, and Queensboro Bridge have all remained as such, despite being named for Hugh Carey, Robert F. Kennedy, and Ed Koch respectively.

Captured off TV on Jan 15, 2019

The new bridge (or bridges, since there is an eastbound and a westbound span) is very attractive. No question about that.

But there was still something to be said about the old, outdated Tap. It often served as a way to mark the beginning and end to myriad trips to Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and other far off points.

It was a place to ponder life (or get really steamed at traffic) while waiting to get across it.

The bend just near the Tarrytown side heading eastbound was where I would often gaze towards Manhattan, which was often shimmering brightly on many a trip.

But progress made the new bridge absolutely necessary, and so we march on, with disgustingly high tolls likely coming in the next few years. Drive it "for cheap" while you can!

On the "new" Tappan Zee Bridge, Sep 2018