A crane removes a section of the old Tappan Zee...

A crane removes a section of the old Tappan Zee Bridge near Westchester landing on Nov. 11, 2017. Segments are being used to build undersea reefs and to rebuild other roadways. Credit: New York State Thruway Authority

Dumping an old bridge in the ocean is probably not something most Long Islanders would describe as improving our precious marine environment. Well, we need to expand our imaginations.

State officials are revving up efforts to create artificial reefs off Long Island’s coast by sinking parts of the old Tappan Zee Bridge. Old tugboats and barges, steel pipes, jetty rock and pieces of concrete are going to be scuttled, too.

These underwater junkyards actually make great habitats for fish, and the transformation is fast. Within days of the material settling on the mostly sandy bottoms off Long Island, fish that like hiding places — black sea bass, blackfish, lobster — arrive. Then algae grow, and anemones and barnacles and mussels attach themselves and become food for other fish. Within a year, you have a thriving community that’s a piscatorial magnet for recreational fishers. And divers love exploring the ghostly metal skeletons and structures.

The first phase of the project will build up reefs off Smithtown, Southampton, Moriches, Fire Island, Hempstead and the Rockaways over the next few months. Another six sites will be expanded later. All material is cleaned and decontaminated to federal standards. The tactic has a track record. Army tanks, subway cars and a decommissioned aircraft carrier form reefs up and down the East Coast.

And the repurposing of the old Tappan Zee — many of its concrete decks were sold for $1 each to counties and other entities to construct or fix other bridges and roads — is a strong rejection of our throwaway culture.

Start dumping. 

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