N.Y. gov. ponders funding for Tappan Zee rebuild

N.J. Gov. Chris Christie quickly shot down a trial balloon floated by N.Y. Gov. David Paterson. Paterson proposed extending the boundary of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to have jurisdiction over the costly replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge, the New York Post reported.

The bridge is now 55 years old and in need of replacement, a project that will cost between $10 billion and $16 billion. Expanding the boundaries of the Port Authority would allow New York and New Jersey to share the huge cost of the Tappan Zee replacement and future toll revenues. The Tappan Zee Bridge carriers the New York State Thruway between Rockland and Westchester counties.

“I can’t make it any clearer to New York: Stop screwing with us, OK?” Christie said. Christie recently torpedoed plans for a second transit tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey, because he thought his state was going to foot too much of the bill. “You’re not going to come and pick our pockets. New Jersey is not going to permit it anymore.”