Owner: Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority
Contractor: Judlau Contracting
Erector / Installer: Northeast Structural Steel
Located just south of Manhattan and west of Brooklyn is Governor’s Island, a 172-acre island in the heart of New York Harbor. On the northeast corner of the island is the octagonal shaped Ventilation Building for the Hugh L. Carey (formerly Brooklyn-Battery) Tunnel. According to the MTA, the Governor’s Island vent building is one of four ventilation buildings housing dozens of giant fans responsible for pulling vehicle emissions out and pumping fresh air into the tunnel every 90 seconds. Protecting this important structure from rising water and future flooding during hurricanes and other storms is vital.
On this project, we produced a total of (61) precast concrete flood wall panels (59 standard units + 2 doorway units) that were installed around the perimeter of the Ventilation Building. Over 13-ft in height, each panel weighed approximately 38,000-lbs. The haunch shape (protruding concrete) at the top of the wall further protects the ventilation building by deflecting wave action. An architectural formliner was cast in the front face of each of the panels. All panels were fabricated in our Easton, NY facility and delivered to a staging yard in Jersey City, New Jersey before being barged to the island.
All installation photos are courtesy of Northeast Structural Steel.
