Long Island Sound link
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The Long Island Sound link is a proposed
Background
Western
Private companies operate the automobile ferries between Port Jefferson—on north-central Long Island—and Bridgeport, Connecticut,[1] and between Orient, much further east on Long Island's North Fork, and New London, Connecticut.[2]
Arguments in support of a fixed crossing over Long Island Sound focus on increased motor vehicle accessibility to Long Island and reduced travel times between Long Island and the mainland. Additionally, proponents of a fixed crossing argue that Long Island's vulnerability to hurricanes necessitates a bridge across Long Island Sound to facilitate a mass evacuation from an approaching storm, as the two ferries and existing bridges in New York City lack the capacity to handle the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of Long Island residents in advance of a hurricane. Opponents of such a crossing argue that the cost of such a bridge or tunnel would be large and it would be likely to have adverse environmental impacts. Finally, the bulk of the opposition to a fixed crossing over Long Island Sound is from Connecticut, where it is widely viewed that construction of such a crossing would come at great expense while providing little-to-no benefit for Connecticut residents. If built, a span across the widest portion of the Sound between New Haven and Shoreham would be approximately 22 to 25 miles (35 to 40 km) in length, possibly making it one of the longest bridges in the world.
Routes
Several routes have been proposed:
- A bridge or tunnelRye in Westchester County with Oyster Bay on Long Island. This would extend Interstate 287 onto Long Island via the existing Seaford–Oyster Bay Expresswayin Nassau County.
- An alternative bridge connecting Rye to the city of Glen Cove on Long Island. This bridge would have connected to the Glen Cove Arterial Highway on Long Island.
- A bridge connecting Asharoken, New York, to Norwalk, Connecticut. This bridge would have connected to a completed version of the Babylon–Northport Expressway in western Suffolk County. The bridge and expressway would form an extension of U.S. Route 7, which currently ends at Interstate 95 in Norwalk.
- A bridge connecting either William Floyd Parkway, which itself would be upgraded to interstate standards at least to the Long Island Expressway in Yaphank and possibly as far as Sunrise Highway in Shirley.[citation needed]
Plan history
1957 plan
In 1957, a plan for a bridge to Westchester County across Long Island Sound was first proposed by Charles H. Sells, a former commissioner for the New York State Department of Public Works. His proposal for the Oyster Bay – Rye Bridge, along with an eastern bridge between
In seven years, Long Island underwent the transformation that Sells had expected, and the east–west arterials between Long Island and
Moses revealed the results of the study to the Nassau and Suffolk Regional Planning Board in February 1966. The Oyster Bay – Rye Bridge (originally the Bayville – Rye Bridge) was proposed to complete the
Setbacks
On March 1, 1968, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority merged with the
In 1971, financial problems resurfaced on the proposed bridge and delayed it yet another year. The following year, the campaign for the Republican-controlled legislature in New York and governor were yet another reason to delay construction. With each delay, Moses continued to insist that the bridge would begin construction the next year.[7]
In 1970, Governor Rockefeller ordered another feasibility study, costing about $160,000. That same year, new federal laws that dealt with the environment required a new
Oyster Bay to Rye Bridge
With the mainline construction of the Seaford – Oyster Bay Expressway completed, Moses turned his eyes back onto an extension of the freeway and onto a bridge across the Long Island Sound into
In November 1972, Moses, the recently created New York State Department of Transportation, and the MTA submitted the
In Westchester County, there were four proposed alternatives to the approach of the bridge. The first three proposals, designated W-1, W-2, and W-3, would use the undeveloped area around Playland Park in Rye for the approach. Proposals W-1 and W-2 would use Kirby Lane and Forest Avenue and be on a low-viaduct structure. Proposal W-3 would follow a narrow piece of land between Kirby Pond and the water between Mansuring Island. W-4 was to go through Port Chester Harbor and head across the Sound near North Mansuring Island. The approaches were to have retaining walls, side slopes, and screening which were to help blend in with the area and reduce the number of properties seized.[11]
Across the Sound in Nassau County, three alternatives were considered for the bridge approach. The first, designated N-1, went from Oak Neck Point southward to an underpass of Bayville Avenue and into a deep cut of about 40 feet (12 m) near Mill Neck Creek. The cuts were to be built so they would be hidden from local properties. From there it would follow West Shore Road into Oyster Bay and utilize NY 106 to get onto the expressway extension. The second alternative, designated N-2, utilized most of N-1's route except for a cut through Mill Neck and onto a viaduct about 2,000 feet (610 m) long with varying clearances. After Mill Neck, it would follow the alignment of proposal N-1. N-3 was significantly different from the other two proposed and would use a longer bridge over the Sound, touching down in Ferry Beach rather than Bayville. The route would then pass to the east of the business district in Bayville and cross over the Mill Neck Creek on a viaduct with a 30 feet (9.1 m) clearance. Alternatives N-1 and N-2 were a bit more than 4 miles (6 km) long, and alternative N-3 was a little more than 3 miles (5 km) long.[11]
On the Nassau side, full cloverleaf interchanges would have been built at NY 106 and NY 25A (North Hempstead Turnpike), and ramps to and from Bayville Avenue were proposed to be used for southbound traffic. This would allow local residents to use the approach route but not have to use local roads in the process. The total costs for the entire project were $200 million for the bridge itself and $52–72 million on the approaches, depending on which route was selected. Another $25 million would have gone toward the completion of NY 135 between NY 25 (the Jericho Turnpike) and NY 106.[11]
Benefits
It was believed that the bridge would have positive effects on both traffic and the local economy, as I-95 (the
Other than monetary benefits, there were also to be economic benefits:[11]
A wider regional market will be available to business enterprises on both sides of the Sound, thereby creating more favorable conditions for establishment of new businesses and expansion of older ones. This applies particularly to specialized enterprises serving areas broader than individual localities.
Employment opportunities will be broader for residents on both sides of the Sound. Individuals with special skills will have a wider field in which to locate, and there will be more opportunity to match skills with jobs. As a result, income levels will often rise as people will be more able to utilize their maximum abilities. The need to relocate families in order to gain better access to employment will be diminished.
Because the bridge will contribute to a healthy economic development of the region, it will have a favorable general effect on property values and therefore on the tax base. Consequently, it will tend to hold down tax rates. These favorable impacts may have been the experience of many transportation improvements.
Movement of goods will be an important function of the new bridge. For the first time, highway access will be available for freight movements to and from Long Island without the need to overcome New York City congestion. Freight shipments to Long Island are now charged at a premium rate. Construction of the bridge could result in a reduction in rates for Long Island shippers and receivers, with a possible favorable effect on the cost of living as well as on the costs of doing business.
Construction of a major project of the magnitude of the proposed bridge and its approach highways will provide a substantial number of jobs during the period it is under construction. Approximately 55 percent of the total cost of construction will be for labor, of which the major element will be on-site. It is estimated that approximately 6,400 man-hours of work will be required, spaced over a three-year period. This means an average of about 2,100 men working on the project, with a peak force of perhaps 3,000 workers. In addition to the labor employed directly on contract work, both on-site and off-site, there will also be employment created in the furnishing of materials, supplies and services required for the project. Secondary economic benefits also will be realized from expenditures by workers employed on the project, both in the vicinity of the bridge site and elsewhere in the region. All of this economic activity will produce substantial additional income for the region, most of it without requiring additional permanent community services.
— Robert Moses, NYSDOT and MTA, Oyster Bay – Rye Bridge Economic Impact Statement (1973)[11]
Opposition
Moses ran into a problem once the proposal was brought to the Federal Highway Administration. Opposition to the bridge was beginning to form on both sides of Long Island Sound. In addition, plans to turn the Oyster Bay area into a bird sanctuary and a protected park made working on the highway harder, as building on such protected places is forbidden by law. Faced with growing opposition, Governor Rockefeller canceled the plans for the bridge on June 20, 1973, nine years after the first proposal by Moses.[12]
21st century
In January 2008, this idea was revived when developer Vincent Polimeni proposed building a privately financed, tolled tunnel between
During his second term, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo also proposed a tunnel connecting NY 135 to Rye. This is also a highway in two tubes and a third tube for maintenance. After a polarizing debate, the NYSDOT released a statement saying the tunnel would not be moving forward at this time.[16]
List of proposals
Proposals by year
The idea for a bridge dates back to the 1930s, but most studies were done in the 1960s and 1970s. Details can be found at the cited reference.
- 1938 – U.S. Senator Royal Copelandproposed the construction of an 18-mile bridge from Orient Point, New York, to Connecticut or Rhode Island.
- 1957 – Charles H. Sells proposed Oyster Bay to Rye Bridge and Orient Point to Watch Hill Bridge
- 1965 – Bertram D. Tallamy Associates performed a study for the New York State Department of Public Works.
- 1966 – New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller began a concerted effort to build a bridge across the Sound.
- 1971 – Creighton, Hamburg, Incorporated studied eight bridge proposals for the NYSDOT.
- 1979 – New York Governor Hugh Carey set up a tri-state advisory committee to study building a bridge across the Sound.
- 2001 – Robert Wiemer proposed a tunnel to link Oyster Bay and Rye.[17]
- 2007 – Long Island based entrepreneurs Vincent Polimeni and his son Michael, engineers Hatch Mott MacDonald, bankers Bear Stearns, and Rubenstein Assoc PR people proposed a tunnel between Oyster Bay and Rye.
- 2018 – Governor Andrew M. Cuomo proposed a NY 135 to Rye tunnel.[16]
- 2021 – North Atlantic Rail proposes a tunnel from Port Jefferson, New York to Milford, Connecticut as part of a new high-speed main line between New York City and Boston.
Proposals by location
Proposals for the Sound link are listed below from west to east.
Southern point | Northern point | Length | Bridge or tunnel | Estimated cost | Year proposed |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sands Point | New Rochelle | 3.3 miles (5.3 km) | Bridge | $132 million | 1971 |
Glen Cove | Rye
|
4.6 miles (7.4 km) | Bridge | $150 million | 1971 |
Oyster Bay | Rye
|
6.1 miles (9.8 km) | Bridge | $168 million | 1971 |
Oyster Bay | Rye | 6.1 miles (9.8 km) | Tunnel | 2001[18] | |
Oyster Bay | Rye | 16 miles (26 km)[19] | Tunnel | $8 to $10 billion | 2007[14] |
Northport | Norwalk | Bridge | Before 1971 | ||
Syosset | Noroton-Norwalk | Tunnel | 2001[18] | ||
Port Jefferson | Bridgeport | 14.5 miles (23.3 km) | Bridge | $219 million $368 million |
1965 1968 |
Shoreham | New Haven | 24.0 miles (38.6 km) | Bridge | $565 million $1.4 billion |
1971 1979 |
Wading River | East Haven | Bridge | 1979 | ||
Riverhead
|
Guilford | 20.1 miles (32.3 km) | Bridge | $510 million $720 million |
1971 1979 |
East Marion | Old Saybrook | 10 miles (16 km) | Bridge | $206 million $390 million $640 million |
1965 1971 1979 |
Orient Point | East Lyme | Tunnel | 1966 | ||
Orient Point | Watch Hill | 15.4 miles (24.8 km) | Bridge | $392 million $639 million |
1965 1971 |
Orient Point | Groton and Watch Hill[20] | 23.8 miles (38.3 km) | Bridge | $260 million | 1963 |
References
- ^ The Bridgeport and Port Jefferson Steamboat Company Archived March 31, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Cross Sound Ferry
- ^ Ormseth, Matthew (January 15, 2018). "The Latest, $55 Billion Solution to Long Island Sound Crossing: Underwater Tunnel". courant.com. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "Master Plan for Nassau County" (Document). Nassau County Department of Public Works. 1959.
- ^ "Traffic, Earnings and Feasibility of the Long Island Sound Crossing" (Document). Madigan-Hyland, Incorporated. 1965.
- ^ Moses, Robert (1966). Proposed Bayville-Rye Bridge. Nassau-Suffolk Regional Planning Board.
- Caro, Robert A. (1974). The Power Broker. Vintage Books-Random House.
- ^ Anderson, Steve (2009). "Oyster Bay-Rye Bridge (unbuilt)". NYCRoads. Retrieved April 11, 2009.
- ^ "A Comprehensive Transportation Study for Proposed Bridge Crossings" (Document). Creighton, Hamburg, Incorporated. 1971.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration; Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York State Department of Transportation (1972). "Long Island Sound Crossing: Draft Environmental Section 4(f) Statement" (Document). Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
- ^ a b c d e f g Moses, Robert; Federal Highway Administration; Metropolitan Transportation Authority; New York State Department of Transportation (November 1972). "Oyster Bay-Rye Bridge, Administrative Action Final Environmental Impact Statement and Section 4(f) Statement" (Document). Federal Highway Administration, Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York State Department of Transportation.
- ^ Clines, Francis X. (June 21, 1973). "Rockefeller Halts Efforts to Build L.I. Sound Bridge". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
- ^ Winzelberg, David (December 19, 2008). "Tunnel plan plows ahead". Long Island Business News. Retrieved June 29, 2017 – via Polimeni International.
- ^ a b Samuel, Peter (November 26, 2007). "Toll tunnel under Long Island Sound NY proposed - Sound Link". Toll Roads News. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
- ^ Nash, Denise (February 1, 2008). "Hearing Held to Discuss Long Island Sound Tunnel Proposal. If Built, Would be Longest Motor Tunnel in the World". Manhasset Press.
- ^ a b Madore, James T. (January 26, 2018). "Cuomo pushes Sound tunnel despite opposition". Newsday. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
- ^ Wiemer, Robert (June 3, 2001). "The Outer Burrow". Newsday. pp. B1–B2. Cited in S. Berliner, III.
- ^ a b "S. Berliner, III's Long Island Sound Tunnel Page". Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2008.
- ^ The tunnel would travel 6 miles (9.7 km) underwater and an additional 10 miles (16 km) under land to reach suitable entry points near the highways.
- ^ This would have been a tri-state bridge, with a fork at Fisher's Island and separate termini at Groton and Watch Hill.
External links
- The Philadelphia Inquirer: