Officials Discuss Plans for New Tappan Zee in White Plains
Construction on the replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge could begin as early as this year, an advisor to Governor Cuomo said Wednesday morning at a meeting with members of the Business Council of Westchester and local officials.
The timetable will depend on the Final Environmental Impact Statement, or FEIS, which is expected next week. Larry Schwartz, Cuomo’s secretary, said he hoped the project would take around five years to complete.
Wednesday morning’s meeting, held at Berkeley College in White Plains, gave business leaders a chance to hear from officials and engineers involved in the Tappan Zee project and have their questions about the bridge answered.
“Building a new bridge now is going to reduce congestion dramatically. We’re going to have a safer structure,” said New York State Thruway Authority Executive Director Tom Madison. “We’re going to create better, faster service for bus commuters.”
In the hour-long meeting, officials explained how the administration came to the decision to build the new bridge, the challenges facing the project, changes in the bidding process for the bridge’s design and construction and the possibility of a bus rapid transit system.
“We’ve always talked about this project and the bridge as being this critical transportation infrastructure project,” said BCW President Marsha Gordon. “We need a bridge that is safe, that can handle the traffic, that can handle the growth. This is a very, very exciting opportunity.”
To learn more about the project visit NewNYBridge.com.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.
