New York bridge project awarded Buy America waivers for steel valves

The State of New York received a waiver last week to suspend certain Buy America rules relating to the replacement of the 75-year-old Kosciuszko Bridge between Brooklyn and Queens.

As part of the project, a major natural gas distributor agreed to relocate existing gas facilities that would be in the way of the new bridge, which would require eight new steel valves. Buy America provisions said the valves had to be made of steel manufactured in the United States.

National Grid contacted suppliers and manufacturers to find domestically manufactured valves, but “based on the all responses received, there are no ball valves available which meet both National Grid specifications and Buy America requirements. The valves that meet existing specifications are produced in Italy, Germany, and China,” the state told the Federal Highway Administration last November.