Cuomo's Budget for Upstate Includes $4 Million for the New Tappan Zee Bridge

“Yes, the Tappan Zee is just 20 miles north of New York City. It’s also 238 miles southeast of Syracuse and 343 miles south of Massena,” wrote syracuse.com, taking a good hard look at New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s “Upstate Agenda” announced March 11.

“More than $10 billion specifically targeted for upstate New York, representing largest upstate investment in modern history,” trumpeted the headline on the press release from the governor’s office.

All well and good, but as syracuse.com pointed out, more than a third of that is actually going to the new bridge being built between Nyack and Tarrytown.

In the Upstate Agenda, $4 billion is going to the New New York Bridge.

That funding includes support from the $1.285 billion Thruway Stabilization Program to mitigate upstate toll increases, according to the governor’s office.

Since one rumor was that tolls on the new bridge could jump to $14 from $5, this funding proposal should make the 138,000 drivers who cross the bridge daily between Rockland and Westchester happy.

State officials have not said how they plan to pay for the new bridge, which is estimated to cost $3.9 billion. A proposal to tie it into an environmental loan program was nixed by the Environmental Protection Agency.

• SEE ALSO: Future Cost of New Tappan Zee Bridge Tolls Remains a Mystery

PHOTO: New York State Thruway Authority/construction camera