Build a Better Bridge: The Hudson Valley Wants Transit on the Tappan Zee

New York State is on the verge of undertaking one of the largest transportation projects in the nation: the replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge. Over the course of 10 years and 280 public meetings, Hudson Valley residents, business owners, elected officials and environmental advocates built a consensus that transit was a vital component of the Tappan Zee Bridge project.

Said the State Department of Transportation in 2009: “Without major transit investments, already unacceptable levels of congestion are forecasted to occur in the corridor far into the future.”

In the fall of 2011, however, Governor Andrew Cuomo reversed course, cutting transit from the bridge. His administration now proposes to spend $5 billion for a bridge that is twice as wide as the current bridge. Without transit, the new bridge will provide no relief from the traffic congestion that constrains the region’s growth and diminishes quality of life in the Hudson Valley.

Local leaders, joined by over 20 environmental, good government and labor groups, are calling on Governor Cuomo to put transit back into the Tappan Zee Bridge project. This video shows how the coalition is fighting for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve air quality, achieve sustainability goals, and reduce traffic.

The state is accepting public comment on its Tappan Zee DEIS until March 15.