For the first time since its founding nearly a century ago, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is seeking private investors to help it replace one of its facilities — the aged Goethals Bridge that connects the New Jersey Turnpike to Staten Island and other points in New York.
The Port Authority issued a request for “expressions of interest” Wednesday; responses are due by June 11.
Under the proposal, if a public-private partnership were formed to replace the 82-year-old crossing, the bridge builders would retain ownership and the Port Authority would lease the bridge from them, operate the span and set and collect the tolls.
In other arrangements, as such partnerships are known, the facility is built by an investor group that then leases and operates the bridge from a public entity that retains ownership. The recession has cut deeply into toll and port revenues.
The Port Authority said it cannot afford to pay for a new bridge or to issue bonds to pay for one, because its debt ceiling, including bond issues, is limited by its revenues. Further debt would affect the authority’s bond ratings, said spokesman Steve Coleman.
