WASHINGTON – The US Department of Transportation has approved a $1.6 billion loan to help finance construction of the new Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River between Westchester and Rockland counties.
The funding comes from the DOT’s Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.
Governor Andrew Cuomo called the loan “a huge win for New York State.”
The issue of tolls to cross the new twin-span remains up in the air, the governor noted.
“We have a group that is assembled that is going to be working on just this issue and I don’t want to pre-empt them,” Cuomo said. “They are going to be looking at the financing plan; they are going to be looking at the options.”
Thruway Authority Executive Director Thomas Madison said his agency would bond $2.4 billion toward the total $3.9 billion project.
Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D, NY17) called the loan “a huge milestone” for the project.
Congressman Eliot Engel (D, NY16) said the benefits of the new bridge are “incalculable” and is the only heavy traffic bridge between the George Washington and the Newburgh-Beacon bridges.
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY18) called the loan “a historic investment in the Hudson Valley [that] will create thousands of good paying jobs, boost our economy, and serve commuters and businesses for decades.”
The bridge project is already underway with the first pilings being put in place in the river. Completion of the total project is expected by mid-2018.