Two Hudson Valley congressional representatives praised Thursday’s announcement that the federal government has approved an up to $1.6 billion low interest loan for construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge in the lower Hudson Valley.
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx approved the loan through the DOT’s Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program. The loan is the largest in the program’s history. Congresswoman Nita Lowey, the senior Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Wednesday penned a letter to the DOT urging approval of the loan and requesting a special session of the DOT Credit Council, which was not scheduled to meet until November 12. Democratic Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney says working to secure the loan has been a top priority in his work on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He says he discussed the approval of the loan in a meeting Monday with Secretary Foxx. Like the current Tappan Zee, the new Tappan Zee Bridge will connect Westchester and Rockland Counties.