Yesterday, NYSDOT announced that it was splitting the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 environmental review into two phases. The team will select a transit alternative by May of this year, then focus on bridge design. Construction on the replacement or rehabilitated bridge will begin by 2010, earlier than would otherwise be possible. A second environmental review focusing on the details of any new transit system will then be advanced.

It would be an understatement to say that the existing Tappan Zee process was moving slowly. However, phasing the review process creates a danger that the transit component of the plan will end up sidelined. If the result is a new Tappan Zee Bridge which incorporates mass transit and is completed faster and at lower cost, the project shakeup will have paid off. If instead the state replaces the bridge but delays a final decision on transit because of cost or controversy, the process will have failed.

The state’s budget difficulties (it is facing a $4.4 billion deficit this year, and high debt) strengthen the already strong case for choosing bus rapid transit as the transit alternative for the Tappan Zee project. Not only does BRT have the highest projected east-west ridership, it is the least expensive of the transit alternatives (project documents currently estimate full corridor BRT would cost $5-6.5 billion, compared to $11.5-14.5 billion for full corridor commuter rail). According to the Journal News, the new EIS will include two BRT alternatives, one running entirely on a dedicated busway and another making more local stops.

A positive is that the new environmental reviews will include more robust public outreach. The Tappan Zee project was marred by consistent complaints that there was insufficient public input (see MTR # 551), though this began to change when Gov. Spitzer directed NYSDOT to take over the project. Increased public and agency input could also provide a greater opportunity to incorporate land use within the second environmental review. Last year Gov. Spitzer announced both a Lower Hudson Valley Smart Growth Initiative and the creation of a smart growth cabinet, and NYSDOT began to take a greater interest in land use. It will be interesting to see whether this interest takes hold at the Tappan Zee project.