N.Y.-N.J. Authority Delays Bayonne Bridge Project Two Years
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced a nearly two-year delay in completing a $1.3 billion bridge raising project that would allow the largest containerships to reach the third-largest U.S. port.
The bi-state agency now expects it will be late 2017 before navigational clearances under the Bayonne Bridge are raised. The new schedule for completing the entire project that will raise the bridge roadway by 64 feet won’t be done until mid-2019. The agency several years ago said it would do the bridge project to facilitate movements of containerships in anticipation of more shipments through the Panama Canal after that country’s waterway expansion is done next spring.
The “Raise the Roadway” project cost also was raised by about 15%. Delays were attributed to “construction challenges” and the most recent severe winter in 2014 and 2015.
The goal is to raise the bridge connecting New Jersey and Staten Island while maintaining truck and auto traffic on the decades-old bridge. When done, the clearance under the Bayonne Bridge will be the same as the far newer Verrazano Narrows Bridge that also links Staten Island and Brooklyn.
“The Bayonne Bridge’s ‘Raise the Roadway’ project is one of the most innovative and challenging projects the Port Authority has ever undertaken, and will help maintain our position as the East Coast’s premier port for international trade,” Executive Director Pat Foye said.
Michael Cobelli, CEO of contractor Skanska Civil Inc., said, “This has been a challenging project, but we have committed the resources to complete it successfully.”
The statement blamed the delays on “changes in project staging to address community concerns and reduce construction impacts overnight, modifications to the existing steel arch to ensure safety and allow traffic to continue during construction as well as complicated steel reinforcement activities that required additional repairs.”
When done, lanes will be widened to 12 feet, new shoulders will be added as well as a median divider along with a 12-foot bike and pedestrian walkway. The port authority also stated that the higher bridge will reduce traffic impacts on residential neighborhoods.
