Editorial: Listen to Tappan Zee neighbors

Urging a new Tappan Zee Bridge pegged at $5.2 billion, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has said government needs to do big things and do them right.

After more than a decade of study that has yielded little progress, Cuomo is finally accelerating the replacement of a 57-year-old span that is no longer adequate for the more than 138,000 trips across it each day. Like many who traverse the span, he's deemed the bridge unsafe.

The acceleration of the project is partly due to the Obama administration making the new bridge a national priority, one of 14 projects across the country that is having its reviews expedited. The project got a needed boost Friday when Congress approved a transportation bill that improves New York's chances of getting a $2-billion loan for the bridge from the federal government.

But many people living near the bridge on either side of the Hudson River have legitimate concerns that haven't been addressed. They understandably fear what years of round-the-clock construction will do to their property values and quality of life.

Several homeowners in South Nyack, for example, were told the state would buy their homes. Months after agreeing to the sales, the state said it no longer needed the properties.

Stories like this one could easily stall this expedited process if legal or public relations challenges arise. They do little to dispel perceptions that the administration is insular.

There are many questions about the project -- including issues of financing, potential toll increases and impacts on the river and its ecosystem. The Cuomo administration's "trust us" approach doesn't provide the answers.

These concerns and others, including the bridge's potential to create as many as 45,000 needed jobs, were among issues raised at a town hall meeting last week sponsored by News 12 Westchester and Newsday.com. While making the case for the bridge, one of the governor's top aides, Larry Schwartz, pledged that the governor would take the public's concerns seriously.

"He's going to make sure we have a dialogue with the local community," Schwartz said of the governor.

We hope so. Cuomo should accelerate the building of the bridge, but community concerns should be considered more than just a speed bump along the way.