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“I'm encouraged they're taking noise and air quality seriously,” Tarrytown resident Alice Goldberg said. Goldberg is president of the Quay Condominiums homeowners association. “I hope they also keep the same monitoring after the bridge opens.”
State officials released the final study Wednesday after several months of public hearings and comments on the draft study. The proposed replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge would have two spans just north of the existing bridge to connect Tarrytown and Nyack. The bridge will cost an estimated $5.2 billion and is to be complete in 2017.
Residents of the Quay criticized the state for failing to address construction impacts on their condominium complex, which sits directly adjacent to the existing bridge, in the draft environmental impact statement released in January.
Other Tarrytown residents have also expressed concerns with the proposed plans. Residents in the Irving neighborhood say they're worried about noise, air quality and vibrations. Village officials have asked the state to look at the bridge's impacts on Tarrytown and to include a bus rapid transit system.
Tarrytown Mayor Drew Fixell declined to comment Thursday, saying he was still going through the “voluminous document.”
State officials announced Wednesday that several construction mitigation measures will be in place to monitor noise and air quality. Officials are also planning to lessen impacts on river wildlife, according to the study.
Construction Industry Council President Ross Pepe said in a statement that he applauds the final study, which “marks the beginning of the end in the decade-long campaign to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge.”
Veronica Vanterpool, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, expressed concerns because an “initial analysis” of the final study suggests the state has not made a firm commitment to mass transit.
“Although the state had previously asserted that the bridge would have rush-hour only bus lanes, even this modest step appears to be provisional,” she said in a statement.
State officials said in early July that the new bridge would incorporate enhanced bus services during peak hours from the day it opens. A mass-transit system such as bus rapid transit or rail is not feasible, the state says, because there's no connecting infrastructure on either side of the bridge.
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