The New York State Thruway Authority's bond rating remains at an A+ after a Tuesday assessment—but the agency's credit outlook took a hit, seeing a downgrade from "stable" to "negative."
Standard & Poor's (S&P), the financial rating service that handed down the appraisal, said the ambiguity surrounding played a role in the decision. The $5.2 billion project setting the stage for construction, but no specific methods of tackling the price tag have been hammered out.
NYSTA officials have said toll hikes and toll-backed bonds are possibilities for financing the project, which is slated to be complete by 2017.
(For more on the new Tappan Zee Bridge, click here.)
Howard Milstein, chairman of the NYSTA, sounded off Tuesday on replacing the agency's past, poor decisions with sound plans moving forward.
"Using the direction of the independent financial report we recently received, we will continue working to correct the short-sighted decisions of the past and prepare for the future," he said.
Milstein also expressed confidence in the NYSTA.
"[We] appreciate confirmation of our existing A+ rating, which indicates we have a 'strong capacity to meet financial commitments, but somewhat susceptible to adverse economic conditions and changes in circumstances,'" he said. "Indeed, our recent actions have set the Thruway on a sound fiscal foundation for the future for the first time in two decades and confirm that we are ready, willing and able to make the major investments needed in the future."
