order to minimize impacts on the Hudson River's wildlife and marine traffic. 135 deck panels that were assembled onto the old bridge recently as part of emergency repairs would be sold to local governments for a dollar each so that local governments can build new bridges. Other parts of the old bridge would be sunk off the Atlantic Ocean coast as part of New York State's artificial reef program. In May 2018, the state government began sinking parts of the old bridge to make 12 artificial reefs. On January 2, 2019, it was announced that the eastern approach to the old bridge would be demolished with explosives on January 12. However, it was postponed due to high winds. It was demolished on January 15, 2019. The western approach was lowered onto a barge and hauled away beginning on May 12, 2019 and lasting several days. Suicide prevention From 1998 to 2008, more than 25 people committed suicide on the Tappan Zee Bridge, according to the New York State Thruway Authority. On August 31, 2007, NYSTA officials added four phones – two each on the Rockland and Westchester sides – that connect callers via the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline crisis hotline to counselors at LifeNet or Covenant House. Signs reading "Life is Worth Living" and "When it seems like there is no hope, there is help" were placed on the bridge. Suicide fencing and traffic cameras were also installed along the bridge, and bridge staff were trained in suicide prevention. On October 14, 2012, Newsday reported that the Tappan Zee Bridge was called the Golden Gate Bridge of the East and that the "new Tappan Zee, which is in the works, will include fencing designed to thwart jumpers." Suicides on the Tappan Zee Bridge included those of Scott Douglas on December 31, 1993 – after murdering his wife, newspaper heiress Anne Scripps – and of Douglas's stepdaughter Anne Morrell Petrillo, who jumped to her death on September 24, 2009. A US military employee jumped from the bridge to her death in 2010. See also List of fixed crossings of the Hudson River References Further reading External links Tappan Zee Bridge at NYCRoads.com Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 Environmental Review project site (archived March 15, 2016) Tappan Zee Bridge photos on Flickr Bridges over the Hudson River Toll bridges in New York (state) Bridges completed in 1955 Tolled sections of Interstate Highways New York