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U.S. NEWS Monday 21 august 2017

First span of NY bridge built to carry millions opening

By MARY ESCH tem to pay for a bridge
Associated Press many upstate commuters
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New will never use,” said Greg
York Gov. Andrew Cuo- Biryla, executive director of
mo’s signature public works Unshackle Upstate, a coali-
project, a $4 billion bridge tion of business and trade
to be named after his fa- organizations. “The Thru-
ther, is about to begin car- way is the economic life-
rying commuters across the line between our commu-
Hudson River in the New nities. When you increase
York City suburbs. the cost of that lifeline, you
One span of the future Gov. do further damage to the
Mario M. Cuomo Bridge will struggling upstate econo-
open to westbound traffic my.”
Friday, signaling near-com- Abbey Fashouer, a spokes- In this July 25, 2017 photo, construction continues on the spans
pletion of a project to re- woman for Cuomo, said of the new Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, right, as vehicles
place the 62-year-old Tap- upstate residents are not make their way on the the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson
River, near Tarrytown, N.Y. One of the largest public infrastructure
pan Zee that has served as paying for the bridge. projects underway in the U.S. is about to begin carrying traffic
the poster child for Ameri- “There has been no up- across a broad expanse of the Hudson River. Westbound
ca’s crumbling infrastruc- state toll revenue used to travelers will be switched from the old Tappan Zee Bridge to the
ture. The second span is support the construction first span of the $4 billion Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge on Friday,
scheduled for completion and financing of the new Aug. 25.
in the spring. bridge, and no upstate toll (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
The 3-mile (4.8-kilometer)- revenue will be necessary pan Zee is $5 round trip. tem, with its tolls account-
long bridge linking West- to cover any remaining Even at $5, the bridge has ing for about 20 percent of
chester County to the New costs as the Tappan Zee been a major revenue overall revenues, accord-
York State Thruway across currently provides signifi- source for the highway sys- ing to Cuomo’s office.q
the widest point in the cant funding for the entire
Hudson is one of the larg- Thruway system,” she said.
est public infrastructure The state has dedicated
projects underway in the $2 billion from bank settle-
U.S. and a model of the lat- ments and $1.6 billion from
est engineering. It will take a federal loan to fund
more than 50 million vehi- the project, according to
cles a year across the river, Cuomo’s office. But the
from Manhattan commut- Democratic governor said
ers to truckers looking to last month that tolls from
skirt the traffic-choked city the entire 570-mile Thru-
25 miles (40 kilometers) to way system will help pay
the south. the bridge bills. He has also
The construction project, pledged that Thruway tolls
begun by the Thruway will be frozen through 2020.
Authority in 2013 after de- E.J. McMahon, president of
cades of political squab- Empire Center, a conser-
bling, still rankles upstate vative think tank, says the
critics who want to know Thruway Authority should
exactly how the state is have increased the bridge
paying for it. toll in anticipation of the
“Repeatedly we’ve heard project. While other New
whispers about raising tolls York City area bridges cost
across the Thruway sys- as much as $15, the Tap-

AP: Wear solar specs or make a
viewer to safely watch eclipse

Continued from Front pled, scratched or torn. If
you can see any light be-
Solar radiation can kill sides the sun, it’s time for
those cells. Hours can pass new solar specs. Also be-
before you realize the ex- ware if the eclipse glasses
tent of the damage. are older than 2015, when
Seconds are enough for international safety stan-
retinal sunburn. And un- dards were adopted.
like with the skin, you can’t Eclipse glasses can be
feel it. The damage can be worn directly over your
temporary or permanent. prescription glasses or with
Sunglasses won’t work. contacts. As for binocu-
Certified eclipse glasses lars, telescopes and cam-
or hand-held viewers are eras, high-quality solar fil-
a must for direct viewing. ters are essential and must
Don’t use eclipse glasses be mounted at the front
with filters that are crum- end.q