FHWA 46-13
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Contact: Nancy Singer
Tel: 202-366-0660

U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $474 Million TIFIA Loan for Goethals Bridge Replacement Project

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced a Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan $474 million to build the new replacement for the current Goethals Bridge that connects Elizabeth, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York.

"The Obama Administration is committed to projects like the Goethals Bridge that connect people to jobs and move cargo to and from seaports and airports," said Secretary Foxx. "This important investment will help replace a bridge that is nearly 100 years old with one that will better serve businesses and families today and well into the future."

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which operates the bridge, estimates that more than $33 billion in regional goods passes across the bridge each year, and an average of 74,000 vehicles cross the bridge in both directions each weekday. Built in 1928 and now part of Interstate 278, its outdated design has no shoulders and narrow, 10-foot lanes, makes traffic flow difficult in emergencies.

A new cable-stayed bridge, with six 12-foot wide travel lanes, a 12-foot wide outer shoulder and a five-foot wide inner shoulder on each roadway, will replace the existing bridge. The new bridge will also offer a 10-foot wide sidewalk and bikeway along the northern edge of the New Jersey bound roadway and enough space between the eastbound and westbound roadway decks to accommodate possible transit service in the future.

"This project demonstrates the importance of investing in our transportation infrastructure," said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. "The Goethals Bridge will help move New York and New Jersey commuters as well as critical cargo more efficiently. The wider lanes of the new bridge will provide a safer trip for all drivers, whether they are going from New York City to Newark Airport or commuting from New Jersey on I-278 all the way to the Brooklyn."

The Goethals Bridge is key to accessing Newark Airport from New York City and provides a connection between the New Jersey Turnpike, Routes 1 & 9 and other New Jersey highways, the Staten Island Expressway (I-278), and the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

The loan will go toward the $1.5 billion total cost of the project. The new bridge is being constructed through a private, long-term development contract with NYNJ Link, a consortium of Macquarie Infrastructure Real Assets and Kiewit Construction, which will receive the loan and design, build, finance and maintain the new bridge. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will maintain responsibility for setting and collecting tolls.

The TIFIA credit program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial non-federal investments. Each dollar of federal funding can provide up to $10 in TIFIA credit assistance and support up to $30 in transportation infrastructure investment. Since its launch, the TIFIA program has helped 36 projects turn over $12 billion in U.S. Department of Transportation assistance into more than $48 billion in infrastructure investment across America. The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) transformed TIFIA into one of the largest transportation infrastructure loan programs in history, making up to $17 billion available in credit assistance for critical infrastructure projects.

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