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Westchester-Long Island Tunnel Idea Re-Emerges

Courtesy of tide-forecast, Meteo365.com Ltd.

The idea of building a tunnel from Long Island to Westchester is not new.  New York Governor Andrew Cuomo during his State of the State address in early January said it’s worth revisiting in the name of alleviating traffic congestion. But some state Assemblymembers from Westchester doubt the concept will gain traction.

In the context of improving infrastructure, Governor Cuomo offered the following.

“We should continue to pursue a tunnel from Long Island to Westchester or Connecticut. DOT has determined it’s feasible,” Cuomo said. “It would be under water, it would be invisible, it would reduce traffic on the impossibly congested Long Island Expressway and would offer potential significant private investment.”

Two fellow Democrats, however, do not believe the connection will win over Westchester communities. One is Greenburgh Assemblyman Tom Abinanti.

“I don’t see a need for the tunnel and I don’t see it as being practical. Clearly, we’re always open to looking at new suggestions and new ideas, but this is one that has been around for many, many, many years, has been rejected as unnecessary and impractical every time it’s been proposed,” says Abinanti. “Perhaps a tunnel going from Long Island to Connecticut would make more sense.”

Scarsdale Assemblymember Amy Paulin recalls proposals being bandied about for some time.

“When it was first proposed, I forget how many years ago, the communities on the Westchester side were very opposed to it because of where it would be, where it would come out on their side causing very large traffic problems within certain small communities,” Paulin says.

A Long Island Crossing Feasibility Study prepared by Montreal-based engineering firm WSP for the state Department of Transportation dated December 2017 shows a few different scenarios, including crossings to Connecticut. There is the so-called Western Alignment, from Oyster Bay, Long Island to the Rye and Port Chester area in Westchester. One concept shows three lanes each way and two tubes, at a cost of about $55 billion for the 18-mile crossing. Another scenario that reduces the project to two lanes each way in one tube takes the estimated cost down to $32 billion. Abinanti says in a time of such limited resources, focus should be elsewhere.

“I think we’re in a time where we need to concentrate on completing some of the big projects that are on the boards and restoring some of the infrastructure that is in disrepair in the state. The governor has moved forward very well with the replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge. He’s working on restoring our airports. These are big projects that require a lot of money and a lot of concentration,” Abinanti says. “Our roadways are in disrepair. Our everyday bridges are in disrepair. I think we have a lot on our plate already. We don’t need to add another big project.”

Again, Paulin.

“I hate to use the phrase ‘devil in the detail’ but that’s what we need to see here, before we can see whether or not it’s going to alleviate problems or create new ones,” Paulin says.

WSP notes that Long Island crossing proposals go back to the 1930s. A former state public works commissioner spearheaded an Oyster Bay-to-Rye Bridge study in 1957. And a proposal initiated by a private developer to finance a tunnel similar to the Western Alignment emerged in 2008. The WSP study notes that then-governor David Paterson supported the project; the state did not. The December 2017 feasibility study shows proposed crossings from Long Island to Connecticut, including bridges or bridge-tunnel hybrids, with proposed connections from Long Island to Bridgeport or Devon or a connection to Connecticut east of New Haven.

The study says the next steps include a five-year environmental process that includes two years for scoping, two years for a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and one year for a Final Environmental Impact Statement.

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