Rockland, Westchester Backing Tappan Zee Bridge Replacement Project

The county executives from Rockland and Westchester counties have announced that they will be formally supporting the state's planned Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project.

Their support, the executives said, will help New York State in its efforts to get federal funding for the multi-billion-dollar project to replace the outdated Tappan Zee Bridge linking Rockland and Westchester.

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef said they reached there decisions only after meeting one-on-one with Gov. Andrew Cuomo about the project.

The said their support came only getting guarantees from Cuomo that included:

- The creation of a new regional transit task force

- Create savings in the project to reduce anticipated tolls on the bridge, and an examination by the state of how bridge tolls affect local residents and workers in Westchester and Rockland.

- Include bus rapid transit lanes on the new bridge

- Build in capacity for more mass transit options in the future.

"Bottom line, the bridge needs to be replaced," said Vanderhoef. "And if you're going to do that, ensure there's mass transit."