NYDOT officials will tell us the results of their nine year $54 million Tappan Zee Bridge Study this morning: we need a new bridge. It’s something TZB commuters already knew.
The replacement will include some form of mass transit. The most expensive proposal, examined by the bridge study commission, will create a light rail line running from West (Suffern) to East (Port Chester) crossing the Hudson on the new TZB.According to the Tappan Zee Bridge/Environmental Review commission, the bridge has been under constant repair and has outlived its originally planned 50 year lifespan. The bridge is now 53 years old, first servicing the region in December 1955. The existing bridge has five different sections, each corresponding to different geological conditions in the riverbed.
The commission has been holding public hearings over the last two years taking input from citizens, transportation officials and office holders. Opposition groups have protested the effort, saying it is too expensive or it hasn’t considered other alternatives.
According to The Journal News, today’s announcement was originally expected to be made last April.
Officials have privately stated that the new bridge will also include a bike lane connecting Nyack with Tarrytown.
Sources: NyackNewsAndViews, TZB/Environmental Review, Journal News, Forbes, Times-Herald,TZB Stakeholders presentation
