Feds approve $1.6B loan for Tappan Zee project
By KELLY FAY
Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced federal approval of a $1.6 billion loan for the reconstruction of the Tappan Zee Bridge. The loan is the largest ever approved by the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which provides loans and credit assistance for transportation projects of regional or national significance.
"Twenty years ago the governor stood up and said they were going to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge, which became a metaphor for what's impossible in the state, that somehow along the way we lost the ability to take on big projects and get big things done," Cuomo said. "In the last two years the project moved from decades of delays and dysfunction to actual construction."
As a term of the federal loan, the existing Tappan Zee will be completely torn down and recycled to allow for the construction of two new bridges. A northern bridge will be constructed north of the current Tappan Zee. A southern bridge will be constructed on the same landings as the current one. New bridges will incorporate paths for bikers, walkers and sightseers to provide a park experience. Removal of the old bridge is expected to take several months and is projected to begin in 2017.
The federal loan will be repaid over 35 years, and its interest rate will be set to the Treasury rate plus one basis point.
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2013-11-12-85809.113122-Feds-approve-16B-loan-for-Tappan-Zee-project.html