ALBANY - Another major milestone in the project for building a new bridge to replace the Tappan Zee with the release of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), a document compiled by agencies on all levels of government with comprehensive responses to thousands of comments from the public. A summary of the FEIS is available at www.newnybridge.com/documents/feis/feis-summary.pdf and a full copy of the FEIS is available at www.newnybridge.com/documents/feis/.

“Building this new bridge is one of our state’s the largest infrastructure projects and, as we move forward, we are making every effort to limit negative impacts on residents and the environment,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo. “The Final Environmental Impact Statement is our comprehensive plan for protecting the local environment and the well-being of nearby communities during the construction process. From requiring extensive environmental protections to providing real-time online monitoring of construction activities, our goal is to have a responsible, effective and open process for building a new better bridge.”

The FEIS includes extensive actions that will be taken to mitigate public concerns, including installing 24-hour video cameras to document the project, noise monitors to measure construction noise and air quality monitors to assess emissions. The public will be able to access real-time video, construction noise levels and air quality measurements at www.newNYBridge.com.

Separate from the FEIS process, Governor Cuomo and his team are taking steps to open the design and procurement process to the maximum extent allowable by law. In order to ensure transparency and solicit public feedback, all bidders will be invited to voluntarily make a public presentation of their general design concepts subject to Federal approval. In addition, a Blue Ribbon Selection Committee will be formed with representatives from Westchester and Rockland counties to engage public input and weigh in on the final selection.

The FEIS was compiled from over 3,000 public comments and public hearings that were attended by over 1,100 people. The majority of these comments involved the following four areas:

· Construction Impacts: Noise, Air/Dust, Traffic
· Design Aesthetics of the New Bridge
· Impacts on River Environment
· Additional Transit Capability