Let's hope this gets adequate planning and review with this new timeline. Proceeding without a light rail or at least a bicycle lane would be tragic. Are there public hearings on this?

Quicker access to 'accident prone' drivers among other things

The planning is done. Build it. Mass transit is a must though. Kavish's comments show how clueless he is. It it is not built in Rockland, the economic results are devastating. Nyack, please get rid of this man.

I live 50 yards north of the present bridge,and the effects would be highly negative;however,when I voiced this yesterday,I was told to"sell my co-op and move to Florida".Sorry,but I love Nyack and I'm staying here and fighting for my home.Had people talked about a new bridge when I moved here in 1996,I probably would not have done so.However,I'm here now,and here I'm staying!BTW,Mayor Kavesh is telling the truth about siting the bridge further north,but no one wants to hear it!

Up and to this point in time the public was never told why the tunnel option was never considered...nor was it one of the alternatives included in the environmental assessment. A tunnel from the Route 303/Thruway intersection to Westchester could be very beneficial in that it would:
1. Significantly reduce noise
2. Significantly reduce yearly maintenence cost
3. Open up and reclaim for development/recreation uses the present 1000 foot Thruway right-of-way between Route 59 and South Broadway in South Nyack
4. Create a pier by leaving a portion of the existing bridge from S. Nyack for fishing, passive recreation, tourist destination and possible retail usess such as restaurants.

There are many creative options and economic benefits that become available with a tunnel option that should not be ignored because the Thruway Authority has decided that a "new bridge" is what "they" want.

B. Peters
South Nyack

Tunnel cost way too much. Also , the outlet for the tunnel in Westchester is way east of current road approachs thus all the work done there in last10 years would be useless and billions more would need to be spent . Obtaining property for new tunnel outlet would take years.

good coverage Patch.. very informative..

As it stands now, this is certainly not new, green infrastructure. Yes, there will be plenty of more hearings on this. In fact, now they will be expedited. Note to Laborer: I'm not talking about ditching/dismantling the TZ bridge. What I'm saying is that it would have made more sense to build any new bridge further north, which is where they're aiming future economic growth. There would be a newer bridge up north that would relieve much of the load from the TZ and a repaired TZ handling much closer to the amount it was designed to handle.

Another sensible but rejected idea was to build a tunnel under the TZ for truck traffic and to keep the bridge for non-trucks; again, the bridge would be handling much closer to the amount it was designed to handle. All of these ideas were rejected by the Thruway.

While the decision to build the new bridge is a fait accompli, its final design is anything but. Broadly speaking, there are two choices: a wider bridge or a double-decker with the lower level for mass transit. The double-decker makes more sense to me, but I'm no expert. Our goals need to include: minimal land takings; the Lid Park; and mass transit on the new bridge. Without the mass transit, all we will get is a newer, expanded bridge and more cars, trucks, and pollution.

We know that this will cause a decade of chaos in and around the "corridor." I'd like to know how many jobs will be created. And what IS the accident rate on the TZ bridge?

Lets see how much more money they can waste talking about future plans. It reminds me of the Helen Hayes theater. Lots of money changed hands and ultimately nothing was done. How long are they going to talk about it, get it done before the current bridge falls down!

The first public hearing in Rockland will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. on Oct. 27 at the Palisades Center's Adler Room, 1000 Palisades Center Drive in West Nyack.

According to the Journal News, "each session will feature an informal open house, formal presentations, at 5 and 7 p.m., and an opportunity for the public to comment — similar to ones held in past years by the state."

"The Federal Highway Administration will serve as the lead agency on the project, which will help speed up its review and approval. The agency will prepare the project's environmental impact statements, likely using the work already done by the Tappan Zee Bridge/Interstate 287 Corridor project team, made up of the state Department of Transportation, state Thruway Authority and MTA Metro-North Railroad."

"Mass transit that had been proposed for the 30-mile Interstate 287 project has been eliminated, but may be added at a later date as funding becomes available. That project was to have cost $16 billion, according to 2010 state estimates but has since been upped to $21 billion."

"The new bridge will be paid for by a combination of bonds back by toll revenues, federal fund and labor union pension fund investments."

As someone who lives adjacent to the Thruway, has read the study documents and has been to the open houses and meetings, I do believe that Mr. Kavesh has a good perspective on the issues at hand.

I would be in full support of a lid park. It has the potential to reduce noise and air pollution and eliminate some of that glare that strangely causes so many traffic problems!

We don't know very many specifics on how our villages will be impacted as this project goes forward, but I will absolutely make it my responsibility to stay informed and involved as details are released.

ok alright... fix the bridge '.you can put men on the moon' ...fix the damn bridge already

I like this one [According to the Journal News, "each session will feature an informal open house, formal presentations, at 5 and 7 p.m., and an opportunity for the public to comment — similar to ones held in past years by the state."] I hope this does not end up like the World Trade Center planning. Look how long it took to get a plan for the new building. Again, they knew this bridge had a lifespan of 50 years, so why weren't contingency plans made? The government and our society has become reactive instead of proactive.

Richard Kavesh, if you moved the bridge north what would be the connecting roads? You would need to build new roads and then the project would cost even more. If the new bridge is built parallel to the existing bridge, then you use the existing roads.

Several years ago the Thruway admitted that the "50-year lifespan of the Tappan Zee Bridge" was a myth and that it was never designated as such until plans for a new,expanded bridge were proposed. The I-287 interchange has funneled a tremendous amount of traffic away from the G.W. Bridge and onto the TZ. Rockland needs a release from this pressure. Instead of TZ II without mass transit, which will just add more congestion to Rockland, why not widen Route 84 east from its junction with 87 North and build a new, expanded Newburgh - Beacon bridge with mass transit and an easy connection to the Port Jervis line? This would use existing roads.

Richard, you forgot that we are living in America. We don't peddle to work. Many, many people just don't live around the corner from their jobs. Some commute 50 miles each way to work. Some by car and some by public transport. Bicycles are nice for the weekend when you want to get some exercise, gut I doubt many will want to travel to work by bike. How about the rain and snow? Maybe a nice idea for those Europeans but it wont fly here.

Richard, as far as the Greenburgh supervisors idea of saving the bridge span because it would cost more than taking it down, I don't think so. If you leave it up and use it, it still has to be maintained. Who maintains it and at what cost? I think that the scrap metal would fetch a good price and help defer the cost of the demolition. How many bicycle paths do we really need?
The government needs to stop spending money on trivial things such as open spaces and bicycle paths, the taxpayers can't afford it anymore. Look at your tax bills and tell me I'm wrong.

Whadda' I do witha' my Schwinn 'bike,my Mao cap and my little red book?If I have no paths across the riva' ,I won't be ably assisted to my Commie meetin's and I cain't make it ta Wowl Street

The mass transit is a must!