What to Know
- Westbound traffic switched to the new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge early Saturday
- Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced the new $4 billion bridge Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony
- The bridge will carry millions of people between Westchester and Rockland counties on a critical northeast U.S. transportation corridor
The new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, linking suburban Westchester and Rockland counties north of New York City, has opened for one direction of traffic.
Four westbound lanes of traffic started crossing the first span of the bridge early Saturday. The second span is slated to open next year.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo introduced the new $4 billion bridge, named after his father, on Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The project launched by the Thruway Authority in 2013 will replace the 62-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge, a critical link in the Northeast U.S. highway system. The bridge will carry more than 50 million vehicles a year across the Hudson River.
The Tappan Zee had served as the poster child for crumbling infrastructure. President Barack Obama used it as a backdrop in 2014 when he asked Congress for more infrastructure funding.
Cuomo hailed the beauty of the bridge and the speed at which it was constructed.
“We are leaving an old, dangerous, traumatizing bridge, and it’s replaced by a new, safer, smarter structure,” he said.
