Astorino denies delaying Tappan Zee project

Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino on Tuesday criticized Gov. Andrew Cuomo for suggesting that he and other Hudson Valley leaders were jeopardizing a $5.2 billion project to replace the Tappan Zee bridge.

Last week, Astorino and other county executives delayed a key vote of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council scheduled for this Tuesday, saying they needed more time to get details about funding, design and environmental issues surrounding the project. The council's approval is needed before the state can seek federal funds for the project.

"It's not my project, but I'm being asked to vote on something that I have no clue about," he said on the Albany radio talk show Tuesday morning. "We're not being unreasonable by saying let's delay the vote by two months, which will not delay the start of the bridge, while we get some answers for ourselves and the public. I think that's very reasonable."

The Republican county executive was responding to comments from Cuomo and the director of the New York State Thruway Authority on Monday suggesting that he and other county executives were dragging their heels on the project. Astorino and other Hudson Valley leaders say they want, among other things, to make sure mass transit is part of the project.

State officials argue that adding mass transit could delay the project for years. Cuomo, in his own radio interview Monday, warned that adding anything more than a rush-hour bus lane on the bridge could double the project costs.

"Putting in a bus system is very, very expensive and it has nothing to do with the bridge," Cuomo said. "Everybody says the bridge has to be replaced. Whatever bridge is built will be able to accommodate any bus system or rail system in the future."

To drive Cuomo's point home, Thruway director Tom Madison fired off a statement Monday night saying that more complex provisions for mass transit would bring "skyrocketing tolls and years more of delay.

"The state spent more than 10 years and $88 million studying options for building a new bridge, including numerous alternatives for bus and rail systems," he said. "The bridge will accommodate transit on day one and include eight general traffic lanes as well as additional wider lanes for use as a pedestrian/bike lane, emergency breakdown lanes and a dedicated bus lane."

Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, a Republican, said he agrees with Cuomo that the state can't afford to add a rapid bus system over the new bridge, but he wants mass transit to be included as part of the long-term plan. He favors plans not just for an express bus route, but a commuter rail line.

"It can't be built today, but it has to be part of the vision for tomorrow," he told Newsday on Tuesday. "We need to figure out how we're going to pay for the actual bridge before we deal with the mass transit component."

Still, he stands with Astorino over the decision by the transportation commission to delay a vote on adding the project to the regional transportation plan. "There's a lot of unanswered questions," Vanderhoef said.

Larry Schwartz of White Plains, a former deputy Westchester County executive and Cuomo's point man on the Tappan Zee plan, announced at a June 28 town hall meeting sponsored by News12 and Newsday that the state would add a dedicated bus lane to plans for a 15-lane bridge but would not plan for routes through neighborhoods surrounding the new bridge.

On Tuesday, Schwartz reiterated Cuomo's position that constructing a bus rapid transit system was off the table.

"We cannot afford to spend another $5 billion on it right now," he said in a radio interview following Astorino. "It's going to mean higher taxes and tolls and that the last thing the people of the state want. And the governor is not going to let that happen."