Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Tappan Zee Bridge

Cuomo Admin Silent as Media Questions Tappan Zee Fuzzy Math

4:34 PM EST on February 21, 2012

A new print advertisement from the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, running in the Westchester Journal News, illustrates the fundamental incompleteness of the Cuomo administration's transit-free plan for the Tappan Zee Bridge. For a larger version, click here.

As advocates for transit on the Tappan Zee Bridge take to the airwaves, the media are starting to ask questions about the Cuomo administration's ever-shifting and unexplained cost estimates for the project.

Over the weekend, Crain's called attention to the state's hard-to-believe estimate of the cost of running a new bus rapid transit system across the bridge:

"The state hasn't told the group why it projects the cost of a bus component to be as much as $5.3 billion, compared with an earlier $1 billion projection that Tri-State transit wonks called inflated to begin with.

Inexplicably, the state now says commuter rail service would be cheaper than the bus option. Typically, rail projects are several times more expensive."

Then, yesterday, the Observer's Matt Chaban pointed out that the cost of the transit-free bridge, too, is already inflating. "Meanwhile the bridge may cost an extra $1.4 billion and take longer than expected to complete," wrote Chaban. "With all that in mind, why not take a little time and get it right."

There's a growing chorus of voices calling for transit across the Tappan Zee. A slew of local politicians, including the county executives on both sides of the Hudson, and an ever-growing list of towns have demanded the inclusion of transit on the new span.

The Cuomo administration, however, is doing everything it can to make an informed debate impossible. Crain's had no more success getting information from the state than Streetsblog has.

By pumping up the cost of transit without explanation and changing its projection for the cost of the bridge itself to suit any given purpose, the state is denying its citizens the information they need to weigh the costs and substantial benefits of Tappan Zee transit. Is the state afraid of what New Yorkers might find?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Can We Just Keep Cars Off the Queensbridge Baby Greenway?

Why do we allow car drivers to park on greenways, in parks and on tree beds?

March 29, 2024

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024
See all posts