(Save the date: RealShare New York comes to the Grand Hyatt, New York, NY, October 9.)

ALBANY- After getting a unanimous vote from the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has requested federal funding to move forward with the $5 billion replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge, an infrastructure project that the commercial real estate industry has long supported.

In a letter to US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, Cuomo formally initiated New York’s application for funding under the federal Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) as a result of the council’s vote. “There is no doubt that the bridge replacement is critical,” Cuomo wrote. “The Tappan Zee is outdated and unsafe with an accident rate twice that of any other portion of the New York State Thruway, and adds needless congestion for tens of thousands of commuters. It will be safe for drivers, faster for bus commuters and the project will create tens of thousands of new jobs.”

The request follows a five-year “alternatives analysis” process where state and federal agencies considered 156 possibilities  for improving conditions along the Tappan Zee/I-287 corridor, which was whittled down following public input and review. Under the current proposal, the new bridge will feature transit capability, expanded lanes and designed lanes for bikes and pedestrians.

The vote is seen as the milestone since President Barack Obama’s October 2011 executive order naming the Tappan Zee project one of a handful in the nation selected for expedited federal review and approval. In July, state and federal agencies completed work on the Environmental Impact Statement for the bridge replacement project, which contains methods to ensure the protection of the Hudson River environmental and minimize distuption to surrounding communities.

The state has also already completed a project labor agreement which will save over $450 million in labor costs, and three international design and construction teams are already competing to build a bridge with a useful life of over 100 years.

Built in the 1950s, the Tappan Zee is a critical link in the regional transportation network carrying Interstate routes I-87/I-287 across the Hudson River, connecting Rockland and Westchester Counties in southeastern New York, approximately 15 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. But over the last twenty years, the Tappan Zee has shown significant deterioration. According to figures from the state, approximately 135,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily with upwards of 160,000 vehicles on some weekends, with a total of approximately 45 million vehicles in 2010. 

The bridge was also recently singled out by real estate attorney and author Barry LePatner, who launched a new website, “Save Our Bridges,” an interactive Google map pinpointing each bridge identified as both structurally deficient and fracture critical by the federal government.