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Re: (erielack) Tappan Zee Rail Project

Is the Tappan Zee bridge in such bad shape?  I haven't driven across it
since 1973, and it was a nice bridge then.


Ken B.
- ----- Original Message -----
From: Christopher Thurner <"cthurner_@_adelphia.net">
To: TIMOTHY O. STUY <"njmidland_@_compuserve.com">; erielack
<"erielack_@_internexus.net">
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2000 6:46 PM
Subject: 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.
>
>
>
>
>  ------------------------------------------------------------
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>


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