N6 Limited Posted June 11, 2017 Share #1 Posted June 11, 2017 http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017/06/goethals_bridge.html BY KAREN YI NJ Advance Media for NJ.com STATEN ISLAND -- The white-knuckled drive across the narrow lanes of the Goethals Bridge connecting Staten Island to New Jersey is finally over. The new Goethals Bridge -- complete with wider lanes and shoulders -- officially debuted Saturday afternoon for New York-bound traffic. "It's a great celebration today as we reach an important milestone in the Port Authority's history," Roger Prince, a general manager with the bridge said as he stood overlooking the bridge. "On this day, we open our first long-span bridge in over 85 years." The first few cars crossed the bridge shortly after 4 p.m. Saturday with drivers giving workers a thumbs up, honking their horns and waving out their windows. The $1.5 billion bridge will eventually include two spans, or two bridges -- one for eastbound traffic and one for westbound traffic. Only the first span, for New York-bound traffic is complete and for now, will be divided into two eastbound lanes and two westbound lanes. The westbound lanes will open Sunday afternoon. When the second span is completed in 2018, eastbound and westbound traffic will be separated onto the two bridges. The old Goethals Bridge, built 89 years ago was "functionally obsolete," said James Blackmore, program director for the bridge modernization program. The bridge had no shoulders and lanes were 10-feet wide, barely enough for two trucks to drive side by side. Drivers crossing the new bridge will notice much wider lanes and a shoulder to stop for emergencies. For now the lanes will be 11-feet wide. When the second span opens and eastbound and westbound traffic is separated, the lanes will be 12-feet wide. It's done! New Goethals Bridge opens this weekend The old Goethals bridge closes forever Friday night as its replacement opens this weekend. Blackmore said adding shoulders to the bridge will also ease traffic. "When you have an incident on the bridge ... in order to get to them you often had to come from the other direction," he said, effectively congesting the thoroughfares in both directions. "This is a very congested corridor," Blackmore said. He said 31 million cars cross the bridge annually. "By addressing the Goethals Bridge, we take away one of the pinch points along that corridor." Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. http://www.silive.com/news/2017/06/historic_moment_new_span_of_th.html BY MIRA WASSEF mwassef@siadvance.com STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- The first span of the new twinned Goethals Bridge will be open to traffic this weekend, officials said. The Staten Island-bound span will open 4 p.m. Saturday and the New Jersey-bound side will open at 6 p.m. Sunday, according to a Port Authority alert. The 89-year-old original Goethals Bridge permanently closed 10 p.m. Friday. The Bayonne Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing will remain open through the weekend. Until the second span opens, the new Goethals Bridge span will have a total of four 11-foot lanes, two in each direction, plus narrow shoulders, a spokesman from the Port Authority said. The new span is approximately 10 feet wider than the old bridge. The twin spans are being built next to the existing aging bridge, built in 1928. When the second span is open in 2018, each bridge will have three 12-foot lanes, as well as 12-foot outer shoulders and 5-foot inner shoulders. The second bridge will have a 10-foot shared use path for bicyclists and pedestrians, and space on both spans will be preserved for future mass transit. The $1.5 billion project is being funded by a public-private partnership, and will be an improvement on the existing bridge, which is considered "functionally obsolete" with a total of four narrow 10-foot lanes, no shoulders and no shared-use pedestrian/bike path. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is paying for a portion of the new bridges, along with private partner NYNJ Link LLC - a partnership of Macquarie and Kiewit -- using a combination of taxpayer funds, federal loans, private bonds and private capital. Tappan Zee is left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel Up Front Posted June 11, 2017 Share #2 Posted June 11, 2017 What are they trying to force the pedestrian/bicycle garbage for? Sure, the masses would love to walk from a garbage dump to a massive oil refinery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N6 Limited Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share #3 Posted June 11, 2017 What are they trying to force the pedestrian/bicycle garbage for? Sure, the masses would love to walk from a garbage dump to a massive oil refinery. Why be trapped on the island with the only way off for pedestrians & cyclists being a Ferry to Manhattan and/or a bus to Brooklyn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.