BAYONNE, NJ-After reviewing a number of alternatives, the Port last week announced that its preferred solution is to raise the bridge’s roadbed to approximately 215 feet to increase the existing 151-foot navigational clearance restriction. This would allow larger ships to access the port after the Panama Canal expands in 2014.

The “Raise the Roadway” plan provides fiscally appropriate and environmentally sound solution. Modernizing the Bayonne Bridge is essential to maintaining port access for the next generation of transportation and shipping vessels and crucial to the economic future of New Jersey and the region,” New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said in a statement. “International trade is a key piece of our economic development strategy, and I look forward to continuing to work with the Port Authority, the Business Action Center’s Office of Global Business Advocacy and the business community to provide opportunities for New Jersey businesses to compete in the global marketplace.”

The plan calls for rebuilding existing approaches, ramps and the main-span roadway to a higher elevation. According to the Port Authority, this is more cost-effective and has fewer environmental and neighborhood impacts than replacing the bridge, which opened in 1931. The modification also should preserve the iconic arch of the bridge, one of the longest steel arch bridges in the world with at 1,675-foot central span.