Latest news with #BridgeAuthority
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Three osprey chicks hatch in 500-pound steel nest boxes
Operation Osprey is officially a success. Three osprey chicks are now sitting high atop the Bear Mountain Bridge overlooking the scenic and sturgeon-stocked Hudson River in New York's Hudson Valley. These three new chicks were born in a nest constructed just for them with the help of some humans from the New York State Bridge Authority. The steel nesting boxes were installed this year to keep the birds, eggs, and motorists safe and allow the osprey to stay in their preferred nesting spot on top of the bridge. 'We noticed that two years ago at the Bear Mountain Bridge, [that] they started building nests on top of the tower,' Craig Gardner, manager of maintenance for the New York State Bridge Authority, told Popular Science in April. 'It's not really an ideal spot for us, so we would go up and try to encourage them to go someplace else. But then last year, before we could get the nest, they laid eggs. So then we stayed away from the nest.' Roughly 20,000 vehicles cross the Bear Mountain Bridge every day and the osprey nests themselves are about 250 feet high, so any falling debris can cause car accidents. Bridge Authority workers typically try to encourage birds to nest on the lower spans, closer to the river and away from cars. But these birds wouldn't budge and appear to really like their perch high above the New York fjord. In 2024, the osprey clutch successfully hatched and the chicks remained in the nest for most of the year. For this year, safety concerns prompted the team at the Bridge Authority to build the special steel boxes to keep the residents of any nests built this year safe. 'We took it up in components and assembled it on the top of the tower,' says Gardner. 'They [the birds] were back there as soon as we left, rearranging the sticks and establishing their nest.' When all weighed together, the engineers took about 500 pounds of steel 350 feet in the air to install the nest boxes. The chicks are expected to remain there for several months. [ Related: To protect birds and motorists, engineers build a steel nest box on bridge. ] Thanks to ongoing conservation efforts in the Hudson River and the surrounding area, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, ospreys–and the fish that they need to survive–have seen a major recovery. The osprey are also the second most widely distributed raptor species, after the peregrine falcon, which can also nest on the bridges.
CBS News
30-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
A Mackinac Bridge official died in 2010. It took 15 years to lay him to rest
A Michigan man who had a key role in building one of the longest bridges in the United States was buried 15 years after his death, after a funeral home near the iconic structure surprised the public by saying it still had his ashes. Larry Rubin was laid to rest Wednesday in Petoskey, 40 miles from the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's two peninsulas. For decades, Rubin was the senior staff member at the Mackinac Bridge Authority, which manages the bridge, a 5-mile span over the Straits of Mackinac that is considered the third-longest suspension bridge in the U.S. It opened in 1957. When the bridge was built, "he had an important role because the Authority needed someone to carry out their decisions. He served with excellence," Barbara Brown, a former board member, said Friday. Brown said she was "just shocked" when she saw Rubin's name listed in the St. Ignace newspaper. A funeral home was informing the public that it had many unclaimed cremains. His family apparently didn't pick them up after he died at age 97 in 2010. Val Meyerson of Temple B'nai Israel in Petoskey was familiar with the Jewish section of Greenwood Cemetery and aware that Rubin's first wife, Olga, was buried there in 1990. His name was already on the headstone in anticipation of eventual death. Meyerson said friends from the Bridge Authority helped pay for Rubin's interment. About two dozen people attended a graveside service led by a rabbi. "We all took turns filling in the grave, which was quite an honor," Brown said. "To have been neglected and forgotten for so long — it was moving."
The Independent
30-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
A Michigan bridge official died in 2010. It took 15 years to lay him to rest
A Michigan man who had a key role in building one of the longest bridges in the United States has been buried 15 years after his death after a funeral home near the iconic structure surprised the public by saying it still had his ashes. Larry Rubin was laid to rest Wednesday in Petoskey, 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's two peninsulas. For decades, Rubin was the senior staff member at the Mackinac Bridge Authority, which manages the bridge, a 5-mile (8 km) span over the Straits of Mackinac that is considered the third-longest suspension bridge in the U.S. It opened in 1957. When the bridge was built, "he had an important role because the Authority needed someone to carry out their decisions. He served with excellence,' Barbara Brown, a former board member, said Friday. Brown said she was 'just shocked' when she saw Rubin's name listed in the St. Ignace newspaper. A funeral home was informing the public that it had many unclaimed cremains. His family apparently didn't pick them up after he died at age 97 in 2010. Val Meyerson of Temple B'nai Israel in Petoskey was familiar with the Jewish section of Greenwood Cemetery and aware that Rubin's first wife, Olga, was buried there in 1990. His name was already on the headstone in anticipation of eventual death. Meyerson said friends from the Bridge Authority helped pay for Rubin's interment. About two dozen people attended a graveside service led by a rabbi. 'We all took turns filling in the grave, which was quite an honor," Brown said. 'To have been neglected and forgotten for so long — it was moving."
Associated Press
30-05-2025
- General
- Associated Press
A Michigan bridge official died in 2010. It took 15 years to lay him to rest
A Michigan man who had a key role in building one of the longest bridges in the United States has been buried 15 years after his death after a funeral home near the iconic structure surprised the public by saying it still had his ashes. Larry Rubin was laid to rest Wednesday in Petoskey, 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the Mackinac Bridge, which connects Michigan's two peninsulas. For decades, Rubin was the senior staff member at the Mackinac Bridge Authority, which manages the bridge, a 5-mile (8 km) span over the Straits of Mackinac that is considered the third-longest suspension bridge in the U.S. It opened in 1957. When the bridge was built, 'he had an important role because the Authority needed someone to carry out their decisions. He served with excellence,' Barbara Brown, a former board member, said Friday. Brown said she was 'just shocked' when she saw Rubin's name listed in the St. Ignace newspaper. A funeral home was informing the public that it had many unclaimed cremains. His family apparently didn't pick them up after he died at age 97 in 2010. Val Meyerson of Temple B'nai Israel in Petoskey was familiar with the Jewish section of Greenwood Cemetery and aware that Rubin's first wife, Olga, was buried there in 1990. His name was already on the headstone in anticipation of eventual death. Meyerson said friends from the Bridge Authority helped pay for Rubin's interment. About two dozen people attended a graveside service led by a rabbi. 'We all took turns filling in the grave, which was quite an honor,' Brown said. 'To have been neglected and forgotten for so long — it was moving.'
