Since the outbreak of COVID-19, CSCEC subsidiary China Construction America (CCA) has continuously adjusted the construction and disease control plans of the Interstate 278 (I-278) bridge renovation project, and ensured both safety and steady progress with scientific planning and coordinated management. Despite the great pressure of the pandemic, the construction team made significant progress on the five bridges over I-278 that are located in Staten Island and Brooklyn, which would improve infrastructure in New York. 

On May 8, the construction team of the I-278 project finished paving the decks of four bridges across Mosel Avenue and Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) in the Staten Island borough of New York. The Staten Island Expressway (SIE) Eastbound and Westbound officially opened to traffic, marking the closure phase of the project.

The fifth bridge of the project, the 79th Street Bridge, opened to traffic on the night of May 13. This bridge spans the Gowanus Expressway, a section of I-278 in Brooklyn, New York. The opening of the bridge has made it more convenient for nearby residents to travel between Brooklyn and Queens. 

During the pandemic, frontline staff of the project team worked on rotation shifts and followed the social distancing protocol. Efficient management executed by CCA not only ensured the safety and health of the workers, but also guaranteed steady project progress. In the next phase, the project team will focus on the construction of the bridges’ supporting systems, including installing the lighting systems and guardrails along SIE, dismantling the temporary substitute for the 79th street bridge and removing its jack-up system, reconstructing the median strip, completing the construction of drainage facilities and road shoulders, enhancing the green belt along the highway and landscaping the surrounding environment, etc.

I-278, a major auxiliary interstate highway in New Jersey and New York in the U.S., is the only highway that passes through all the five boroughs of New York City. I-278 carries a heavy traffic flow every day, which plays a significant role in not only transporting supplies across Greater New York amid the coronavirus outbreak, but also local residents’ daily commute. CCA will make every effort to ensure employees’ safety, shoulder the responsibility for safe production, and advance the construction with high quality and steady progress, while carrying the infrastructure projects forward in Greater New York during pandemic prevention and control.