Official notice for the fate of the 78-year-old Bayonne Bridge is expected at any time, said City Business Administrator Steve Gallo recently. A comprehensive planning analysis has been underway for nearly two years to identify the best way to raise the bridge’s height.
Last year, the Port Authority’s Board of Commissioners authorized $10 million to study how to address the issue. The results are scheduled to be released this month.
Once the study is complete, the Port Authority is expected to have a clearer picture regarding which option is best for the region and the communities of Bayonne and Staten Island.
“We are supposed to receive news of their preferred option.” — Steve Gallo
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Gallo said Mayor Mark Smith has taken two strong positions: That any solution to the Bayonne Bridge issue must not adversely impact Bayonne’s neighborhoods, and that the bridge issue must be addressed.
The Port Authority is under a tight timeline to solve the problem, since the first new class of container ships is expected to reach the East Coast at some point after the reopening of a widened Panama Canal in 2014-15. The bridge clearance is currently at about 151 feet, and the Port Authority’s aim is to provide 216 feet of space for ships to pass through so they can access ports Newark and Elizabeth on the other side.
The options
Gov. Christopher Christie said earlier this year that the Port Authority had several options that include raising the bridge or replacing the bridge – both of which would result in the demolition of residential neighborhoods on both the Bayonne and the Staten Island sides.
The Port Authority is said to be considering four potential solutions, which include: jacking up the bridge, creating a lift-bridge mechanism, building a new bridge, or replacing the bridge with a tunnel.
Options such as raising the existing roadway would have required expansion of the existing ramps from their current landing point at Fifth Street in Bayonne as far north as Eighth Street. Replacing the bridge would have required some purchase of neighboring land, said local officials.
In September, Bill Baroni, chairman of the Port Authority, told real estate executives that another option was possible: Creating a lift for the bridge that would allow the footprint to remain the same and not require new, longer ramps to be constructed. Under this option, a portion of the bridge would be reconstructed so that it could be raised when ships approach and lowered again to allow auto traffic to pass.
Impact
The lift solution, if adopted, would allow the Port Authority to keep the promise made earlier this month by Gov. Christopher Christie to keep from destroying residential neighborhoods in Bayonne and Staten Island.
“We are expecting to hear more details this month,” Gallo said.
Earlier this year, Baroni said the Port Authority would evaluate each option and its impact.
In mid-September, the Port Authority Commissioners voted to commit $1 billion to fund the anticipated project cost and to solve the problem with the bridge.
Rep. Albio Sires said the work is necessary in order to protect the 260,000 jobs that are generated by activities at Port Newark and Port Elizabeth.
“It is imperative that large vessels are able to patron our ports so that economic success can be generated in the region,” he said earlier this year.
The Port Authority, however, is moving ahead on other projects for the upcoming year, which include a $3.9 billion capital plan that includes $98 million to overhaul the over 70-year-old Lincoln Tunnel Helix in Weehawken. This would be for resurfacing of roadways and the reinforcement of helix supports – work that would not conclude until late 2015.