NYC bridges, roads to benefit from $261 mln stimulus
(This story is part of a Reuters series on infrastructure)
NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - New York city's bridges, roads, ferry terminals and even the popular Coney island boardwalk will benefit from the $261 million of stimulus funds the city has received for infrastructure projects, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday.
The money will be spread across all five boroughs to support projects totaling $1.1 billion that are expected to create or preserve 32,000 jobs, the mayor said in a statement.
"The federal stimulus dollars mean that we can move projects that would have been on the chopping block and get shovels in the ground quickly -- putting thousands of people to work and rebuilding our infrastructure," he said.
Six projects will receive direct stimulus funding, allowing the city to divert existing funding to support 25 other projects that it was previously unable to finance, the mayor said.
The Saint George ferry terminal ramps on Staten Island will be overhauled using $175 million of stimulus funds in a project expected to be concluded by 2013.
The terminal serves more than 60,000 passengers a day traveling by ferry to lower Manhattan, as well as a bus station serving 23 lines, a railway station and three commuter parking lots.
A $382 million project to restore and widen ramps leading to the Brooklyn Bridge in Brooklyn and Manhattan will receive $47.2 million in direct stimulus money. The project will be bid in spring and is expected to be completed by summer 2012.
Upgrades to the pedestrian bridge from East Harlem to Ward's Island will be funded with $14.3 million in stimulus funds in a project expected to be completed by winter 2012.
Twelve roadway bridges in all five boroughs will receive $9.7 million in stimulus funds for improvements that are expected to be finished by summer 2010.
A project to replace protective coating on two Bruckner Expressway Bridges over the Bronx River will be funded with $8.4 million in stimulus money. That project is expected to be completed by winter 2012.
The rehabilitation of the Greenpoint Avenue Bridge that connects Brooklyn and Queens will receive $6 million in stimulus money. Work is expected to be completed by winter 2011.
Other projects that will receive indirect funds include the Coney Island Boardwalk, which is structurally unsound in some areas. The boardwalk will be repaired using $15 million of displaced funds in a project expected to be finished by spring 2011.
All federal stimulus funds allocated to New York City can be traced at www.nyc.gov. (For more on infrastructure, please visit: here) (Editing by Jan Paschal)
