The Federal Highway Administration today issued a record of decision approving the state’s plan to build a new bridge to replace the Tappan Zee, representing the final hurdle in the environmental review process, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced.
With the approval in hand, the state is now able to move forward with the process of selecting a contracting team, with the goal of starting construction by the end of the year, Cuomo and administration officials said in a media conference call this morning.
“We still have to pick a contractor … and work out the financing but the environmental review is basically completed, and that, from my point of view, was the most difficult step all along here,” Cuomo said on the conference call. “All the arrows are pointed in the right direction.”
The final environmental impact statement (FEIS) was issued Aug. 1 and contains a series of comprehensive requirements for the ultimate construction process that aim to address environmental and public concerns that were raised over the course of the approval process.
The environmental review process concludes less than a year after President Obama fast-tracked the bridge replacement project on Oct. 11, 2011. The FEIS represents the culmination of public meetings across the region that were attended by more than 1,100 people, in addition to 3,000 written comments submitted to the state.
