The Final Environmental Impact Statement for construction of a new Tappan Zee Bridge was released Wednesday and the massive document looks at potential issues relating to construction and plans to mitigate them.
Among the topics examined is the concern about construction impacts. Noise monitors will be installed around the project with the public being able to track in real-time the noise from the work. Any time noise levels exceed the maximum permitted, the design-builder will be required to identify them within 30 minutes of the occurrence and the activity causing the noise will be mitigated within one hour.
Concerning environmental impact, the project will be constructed using a number of resource protection measures and conservation measures to minimize any adverse effects on fish.
On the subject of transit capability, the bridge will be designed to accommodate transit in the future.
Al Samuels, president of the Rockland Business Association, has been involved in the project for years and he said the FEIS is a significant step forward.
“I think the accommodation of concerns brought about by different interest groups is probably greater than any project that I know of that has occurred, certainly, in New York,” Samuels said.
Ross Pepe, president of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and the Hudson Valley said the FEIS “marks the beginning of the end in the decade-long campaign to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge.”
Pepe is also treasurer of BuildTheBridgeNow.org, a statewide coalition of major employers, transportation professionals, civil engineers, and labor organizations representing over 300,000 employees and more than 15,000 employees.
“Building this new bridge is one of our state’s largest infrastructure projects and, as we move forward, we are making every effort to limit negative impacts on residents and the environment,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo.
