[Date Prev][Date Next] [Chronological] [Thread] [Top]

RE: (erielack) Tappan Zee Rail Project

Timothy O. Stuy wrote:

- -----Original Message-----
From:	"erielack-owner_@_internexus.net" [mailto:erielack-owner@internexus.net]
On Behalf Of TIMOTHY O. STUY
Sent:	Wednesday, January 12, 2000 3:51 PM
To:	erielack
Subject:	(erielack) Tappan Zee Rail Project

I noticed this morning that the state of NY is proposing the replace the
existing Tappan Zee Bridge with a new one that would "link Stewart Airport
with the Hudson Line of Metro-North".

I am assuming they would rebuild the Piermont Branch to reach the Tappan
Zee?  What rail line is near Stewart Airport?

Tim

 ------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the erielack photopage at http://el-list.railfan.net
That's an interesting point, Tim.   I have take the liberty of pasting an
article from today's NY Times regarding this.

Note that the line to Stewart Airport would terminate at Port Jervis.  I
wonder how much of the former Erie Newburgh line is around that could be
utilized for this?

Note the pessimism from some of the respondents on whether it will happen or
not.  Also, note that one line goes from Stewart Airport west to PJ and the
other over the proposed bridge from Suffern to Port Chester.

How are these lines going to link?  One may presume that the Suffern lines
would link to the former Erie.

I'd be a little skeptical myself with the Stewart Airport line.  It just
doesn't seem to fit into a plan for the Tappan Zee as it's at least 40 miles
north of the bridge.  The skeptics might be right that this is just a carrot
being dangled in front of the public.

Regards,

Chris Thurner





[NL]
[NL]/images/maintoolbar2.map/images/maintoolbar2.map[NL]http://images3.nytim
es.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/00/01/12/news/national/reg
ional/ny-tapanzee.html/0/Top/default/empty.gif/7468756e6465726f7361http://im
ages3.nytimes.com/RealMedia/ads/click_lx.ads/www.nytimes.com/00/01/12/news/n
ational/regional/ny-tapanzee.html/0/Top/default/empty.gif/7468756e6465726f73
61
January 12, 2000[PARA]Task Force Backs Demolishing Tappan Zee Bridge
[PARA]By DAVID W. CHEN[PARA]HITE PLAINS, Jan. 11 -- The Tappan Zee Bridge
has become so dilapidated and is so congested that it should be torn down
and replaced with a new eight-lane bridge with commuter rail tracks, a state
task force recommended today. [PARA]A new bridge would cost $4 billion,
according to the task force, which was appointed by Gov. George E. Pataki
last year to study ways to ease traffic on the Tappan Zee. [PARA]It also
recommended increasing tolls during peak driving periods to reduce
congestion while a new bridge was being built. [PARA]The recommendations are
likely to be unpopular with many people on both sides of the Tappan Zee,
which spans the Hudson River between Nyack, in Rockland County, and
Tarrytown, in Westchester County. Just last week, more than 400 people
packed a meeting of the New York State Thruway Authority in Nyack,
expressing skepticism and anger at the suggestion of a new bridge, which
they said could adversely affect the environment, add traffic and compromise
their quality of life. [PARA]But after a meeting in Manhattan today, the
task force, which was headed by E. Virgil Conway, the chairman of the
Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said that it would cost $1 billion to
rehabilitate the bridge. The better solution, the task force said, would be
a new bridge parallel to the existing one, with four lanes in each
direction, bracketed by commuter rail tracks. The existing bridge, which
opened in 1955, would then be demolished. [PARA]The rail link would consist
of two new pieces. One would originate at Stewart Airport, in Newburgh, and
end at an existing terminal at Port Jervis. The other would stretch from
Suffern, cross the new bridge between Nyack and Tarrytown, then end at an
existing station in Port Chester. [PARA]If approved, the bridge-and-rail
project could be finished in 10 years. In the meantime, the task force
recommended, the best temporary solution to alleviate a nightmarish commute
would be to introduce what is called congestion pricing, which raises the
toll at certain times of day to induce drivers to make the trip when traffic
is lighter. [PARA]"There is no silver bullet or easy remedy for this
situation," said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for the M.T.A., "but given all of
the alternatives and all of the time and effort that was put in by these
people, these are the most viable solutions." [PARA]The recommendations will
be delivered to Mr. Pataki, perhaps as soon as the end of this week, Mr.
Kelly said. But there is no timetable for action by the governor. [PARA]"We
want to see the details of the report," said Michael McKeon, a spokesman for
Mr. Pataki. "The governor wants to give it a thorough review before he makes
his decision." [PARA]Even so, those who have followed the progress of Mr.
Pataki's task force said today that they would be surprised if Mr. Pataki
did not endorse the general idea of a new bridge. [PARA]The governor said
last summer that replacing the bridge was an option because "it is so old
and does need such major repair." [PARA]Many residents, environmentalists
and transit groups appear to be preparing for what could a dogged fight
against the recommendations. They say the task force's suggestions leave
many crucial questions unanswered, including whether the project will entail
widening the Cross Westchester Expressway, whether the federal government
will pitch in with financing and how much land will need to be condemned.
[PARA]"Huge feasibility questions are not answered," said Jon Orcutt,
associate director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a coalition of
private environmental groups. "So we think the new bridge is a Trojan horse
for widening the Thruway in Rockland County." [PARA]Mr. Orcutt said he
believed the railroad aspect of the project was more of an afterthought.
[PARA]"To us, it's a highway and bridge project and they're dangling transit
as the bait, but the transit is not real," he said. [PARA]No one doubts that
the Tappan Zee Bridge is well past its prime. Though it affords drivers
spectacular views, traffic on it is frequently bumper to bumper. [PARA]The
seven-lane bridge was built to accommodate 100,000 vehicles a day, but it
now handles an average of 130,000. [PARA]In recent years, planners and
government officials have struggled to devise alternatives to the crush. In
1997, in a decision hailed by environmentalists and transportation groups,
Mr. Pataki canceled a project to create a carpool lane straddling the
bridge, saying that such a lane would only be costly and disruptive. Last
year, Mr. Pataki established the task force to investigate other solutions.
[PARA]But residents have since complained that they have had little
opportunity to speak their minds. [PARA]Paul J. Feiner, the town supervisor
of Greenburgh in Westchester, has written a letter to Mr. Pataki requesting
that the local legislatures, and not the Thruway Authority, have the power
to determine the bridge's future. Mr. Feiner said that he also wanted the
authority to hire an independent consultant, chosen by local municipalities,
to review the task force's recommendations. [PARA]One of the reasons that
residents are wary of the authority, perhaps, is their recollection of what
happened the last time a bridge was proposed. According to residents who
spoke up at the meeting in Nyack, Gov. Thomas E. Dewey visited Nyack in 1950
and declared that there were no plans for a bridge. Then, three weeks later,
the residents recalled, state officials released engineering plans for what
ultimately turned out to be the Tappan Zee Bridge.




 ------------------------------------------------------------
Visit the erielack photopage at http://el-list.railfan.net

------------------------------

End of Erielack Digest V2 #572
******************************


 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to "majordomo_@_internexus.net" with the
command unsubscribe erielack-digest in the BODY of the message.
To switch to the regular version of the list, include the command
subscribe erielack as the second line in the e-mail described above.