Report: Last Step Finalized For Construction Of New Goethals Bridge
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Construction is set to begin before the end of the year on a new Goethals Bridge, with the $1.5 billion deal to replace the aging current bridge now finalized, according to a published report.
A public-private partnership has been struck between the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the privately-funded NYNJ Link Partnership, according to a Staten Island Advance report. The developers will work through the partnership to design, build, finance and maintain a new bridge and tear the old one down, the newspaper reported.
The construction project will be funded by $461 million in tax-exempt bonds, and $474 million loan and equity contributions from the developers, the newspaper reported. The developers will be reimbursed by the Port Authority with interest through 35 years, but the Port Authority will still be responsible for toll collection, the paper reported.
The current bridge only has two 10-foot-wide lanes in each direction, and no pedestrian walkway or shoulder, the paper reported.
"If you have the misfortune of being on that bridge at the same time a tractor trailer's going on the bridge, you essentially have a one lane bridge," Samson told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell back in APril.
The new one will include six 12-foot-wide traffic lanes with outer and inner shoulders, a pedestrian and bike path, and a space set aside for a future bus, high-occupancy vehicle, or light rail lane, the paper reported.
The construction of the new bridge will also generate 2,250 jobs, the paper reported.
The old bridge, which connects Staten Island to Elizabeth, N.J., dates back to 1928. The new bridge is set open in late 2016, while demolition on the old one is planned to be finished by 2017, the paper reported.
Work is also under way on the Bayonne Bridge so that it will be elevated 64 feet to accommodate cargo ship traffic.
The Outerbridge Crossing was resurfaced this summer and fall.
All three bridges connect Staten Island with New Jersey.
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