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First Stretch of Elevated Bayonne Bridge Opens to Traffic

By Nicholas Rizzi | February 20, 2017 12:02pm
 The first section of the Bayonne Bridge's elevated roadway opened to traffic on Feb. 20, 2017.
The first section of the Bayonne Bridge's elevated roadway opened to traffic on Feb. 20, 2017.
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Flickr/Patrick Damiano

MARINERS HARBOR — The first section of the renovated Bayonne Bridge opened Monday, towering 215 feet above the Kill Van Kull.

The connection between Staten Island and New Jersey has a single lane in each direction and is 64 feet higher than the original span, according to the Port Authority.

"The Bayonne Bridge, a marvel of 20th century engineering, will become a groundbreaking innovation of the 21st century," said Steven Plate, chief of major capital projects for the agency.

The new roadway is part of a $1.29 billion project to replace the 85-year-old bridge's deck with a new, four-lane span that will allow larger container ships to pass underneath.

The "Raise the Roadway" project will also widen lanes and create a 12-foot bicycle and pedestrian path, according to the Port Authority.

As part of the opening of the new roadway, the Port Authority also switched the bridge to cashless tolling, the first crossing in the city to do so.

Drivers will no longer have to slow down or stop at toll booths. E-ZPass users will have their tags read by the system while others will have their license plate photographed and a bill will be mailed to them, the Port Authority said.

The Port Authority will still close the bridge overnight on same days for construction of the remaining two elevated lanes and removal of the existing deck, which they expect to finish completely by 2019.