New York State officials unveiled a plan on Sept. 26 for the creation of a $16 billion bridge to replace the crumbling Tappan Zee Bridge, saying it could be in place in 10 years.
“It is now time to move ahead and to define the future,” Department of Transportation Commissioner Astrid Glynn told The Journal News.
The new bridge, spanning the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland, would be located about 400 ft to 500 ft north of the Tappan Zee and would include a bus rapid transit (BRT) system. Years later, officials said a commuter rail line, running from Rockland to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, would be built.
The $16 billion cost includes $6.4 million for the bridge, $2.9 for BRT along Interstate 287 from Suffern to Port Chester and 6.7 billion for the rail line.
Response was mostly positive, although some worried about the cost. Robert Goldstein, general counsel of the environmental group Riverkeeper, called the announcement “pie in the sky.”
“To come up with this plan now that costs more than we ever imagined at first in this financial setting, it’s astonishing,” he told The Journal News.
Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef acknowledged that “the numbers are staggering,” but he said the Tappan Zee “can’t live as it is.”
Carrying 150,000 vehicles a day, the 3-mile long bridge is 52 years old. For routine maintenance, the New York State Thruway Authority spends $5 million yearly.
Repairing the Tappan Zee so it meets engineering standards would cost about the same as a replacement, Michael Fleischer, executive director for the Thruway Authority, told The Journal News.
