"This $6.7 billion investment will be the largest single project the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has ever advanced. The recommendation came with a critical caveat: Sherrill wants a single new bridge to be built to the same capacity as the current one, rather than building two new bridges to increase the number of lanes. She also wants to dump a plan to widen the extension."
"The existing Newark Bay Bridge, also known as the Casciano Memorial Bridge, carries about 95,000 cars and trucks daily. It opened in 1956, and the Turnpike Authority has warned that it is reaching the end of its usable life. Last year, the bridge was one of 68 around the country that the National Transportation Safety Board recommended for a vulnerability assessment."
"What we are literally doing is advancing the first bridge because that's what we have the money for. It's the right thing to do for safety reasons, right thing for financial reasons and the right thing for mobility reasons."
Governor Mikie Sherrill recommended the New Jersey Turnpike Authority proceed with a $6.7 billion project to replace the Newark Bay Bridge, which carries approximately 95,000 vehicles daily and has been in operation since 1956. The bridge is structurally deficient and functionally obsolete, prompting the National Transportation Safety Board to recommend it for vulnerability assessment. Sherrill's recommendation includes a critical condition: building a single new bridge with the same capacity as the current structure rather than constructing two bridges to increase lanes. She also rejected plans to widen the highway extension. The project is expected to be completed by 2031 and create 19,000 jobs. The Turnpike Authority board approved initial construction contracts following Sherrill's announcement.
#infrastructure-investment #bridge-replacement #transportation-policy #new-jersey-turnpike-authority
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