The Port Authority Board of Commissioners awarded yesterday a 40-year design-build-finance-maintain contract to New York - New Jersey Link Partnership as part of a $1.5 billion public-private partnership to replace the Goethals Bridge with a new state-of-the-art cable-stayed bridge. 

The NYNJ Link Partnership comprises Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets Inc., Kiewit Development, together with lead contractors Kiewit Infrastructure, Weeks Marine, and Massman Construction.

 The teams shortlisted by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey were:

1. Goethals Bridge Development Group

- ACS Infrastructure Development,- Dragados USA,- Gannett Fleming Engineers & Architects,- Granite Construction Northeast,- John Laing Investments,- TY Lin International.

2. Metro Bridge Partners

- MNII USA II,- PB Americas, Skanska Infrastructure Development,- Skanska Koch,- Skanska USA Civil Northeast,- Traylor Bros.

3. NYNJ Link Partnership

- Kiewit Infrastructure;- Macquarie Infrastructure & Real Assets,- Parsons Transportation Group of New York,- Transfield Services North America,- Weeks Marine.

The project

The new bridge will include additional wider travel lanes and 12-foot shoulders that will ease congestion and accommodate anticipated future traffic volumes. It also will provide state-of-the-art smart bridge technology, including Roadway Weather Information Systems that collect environmental data such as wind speed, visibility, and pavement temperature, as well as a Traffic Detection System that use sensors embedded in the roadway to provide alerts on traffic build-up so incident response plans may be quickly implemented. Additionally, the new structure will restore pedestrian access to the Goethals Bridge with a pedestrian/bicycle pathway.

 The replacement Goethals Bridge will have a 100-year service life and will be built to include options for mass transit in the future.

The project will create more than 2,250 direct construction jobs, $224 million in wages, and $872 million in economic activity for the region. The new span will connect Staten Island, New York with Elizabeth, New Jersey. Construction crews will remove the current Goethals Bridge once construction on the replacement span is complete.

The Port Authority is utilizing an innovative PPP that allows the agency to maintain control of the asset, while having access to private-sector construction and maintenance expertise as well as private capital. The unique agreement will save the Port Authority an estimated 10 percent in combined construction and maintenance costs over the life of the agreement versus the Port Authority's own project estimates, while minimizing any impact to the agency's debt capacity. The developer will benefit from access of up to $500 million in a low cost, U.S. DOT TIFIA loan and the issuance of Private Activity Bonds.

Source: The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey