Governor Cuomo proposes bridge from Nassau County to Westchester and Bronx

Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Governor Cuomo proposing bridge project spanning Long Island Sound
NJ Burkett has more from Oyster Bay.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed another dramatic building project.

He's proposing a long bridge spanning the Long Island Sound from the north shore of Nassau County and then forking to both Westchester County and the Bronx.

"I wasn't for it then as a little kid, and I'm not for it now as an adult," said Mike Crowley, an Oyster Bay resident.

Residents say it's unthinkable, a superhighway through Oyster Bay and a bridge across Long Island Sound to Westchester. But, the governor seems determined to move forward.

"Why can't you have a bridge that goes from Nassau to Westchester or the Bronx?" Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

In a speech to the Association for a Better New York, Governor Cuomo called for a feasibility study to make it happen.

The Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway was not intended to end in Syosset. According to the governor's presentation, the expressway would be extended north for a crossing not unlike the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which stretches for 23 miles.

"You're not going to build anything especially on Long Island where everybody says, 'Great, it's exactly what I wanted,' but you can't have a pebble stop a bulldozer either," Gov. Cuomo said.

By some estimates, the project would cost up to $10 billion. The concept is not new. An earlier plan in the 1970s was defeated for lack of money and fierce local opposition.

It was one of a number of projects the governor proposed Tuesday, including rebuilding Penn Station as well as a New LaGuardia Airport.

"It's another plan that I think is just going to be talked about, quarreled about, debated, and all the drama because the people will stand up and say 'no!'" Crowley said.