Barge breaks loose from Tappan Zee construction site

For the third time since September, a barge has come loose from the Tappan Zee Bridge construction site.

Piermont resident Dean Taucher was looking out his window around 4 p.m. Sunday when he noticed that one barge carrying large steel piles was floating away from the construction site.

"One of them was moving really good down the river, and I thought, 'That's not good,'" Taucher said.

He called Piermont police and authorities, including boats from the project team, arrived by 4:45 p.m., he told The Journal News.

Tappan Zee Constructors confirmed in a statement that one of its barges came loose from its mooring on Sunday afternoon and was recovered about an hour later in coordination with the Piermont Police Department.

TZC's daily operations include at least four checks of mooring tie-offs each shift and the runaway barge was inspected about 45 minutes before it separated from its mooring, the statement said. A full investigation is underway.

Brian Conybeare, special adviser to Gov. Andrew Cuomo on the project, called Sunday's incident "unacceptable.

"The Thruway Authority is currently reviewing TZC's safety protocols and barge mooring methods," he said in a statement. "The contractor has been directed to install GPS tracking on its barges, boats and other vessels as soon as possible as part of a comprehensive series of safety enhancements on and around this major construction site."

It was unclear how far the barge drifted Sunday.

In September, Taucher spotted a loose 50-foot barge while sitting on his porch and reported it to police. The barge drifted for nearly a mile before police marine units tracked it down.

Authorities at the time suspected high winds and choppy waters loosened the barge.​

During a January snowstorm, a pair of barges broke free from the site, with one drifting some 13 miles down the Hudson before it was recovered near the Bronx shore.

Safety concerns around the bridge construction site were first raised in July, when two people were killed after the boat they were riding in slammed into a TZC barge at night.

The boat operator, Jojo John, is facing several felony charges, including operating a vessel under the influence of drugs or alcohol. His lawyers maintain that the barge was not properly lighted that night and John did not see it. Even though the Coast Guard has said the barge lights met federal requirements, TZC added more after the crash.

Sunday's loose barge comes just days after project officials announced they have submitted a request to the Coast Guard to set up a special zone around construction barges. The zone would ban recreational boaters from going near those mooring locations.

The Coast Guard said last week that it was extending its regulated navigation area around the Tappan Zee. The RNA, which is separate from the special zone being sought around the barges, now extends 500 yards north and south of the span. Recreational boaters in the RNA must reduce speed and may be prohibited during certain construction activities.