Over the past several decades, there have been many proposals to build a crossing across Long Island Sound. Given that access to/from Long Island by road requires either passing through the traffic hell that is New York City or a ferry ride, a crossing seems like a good idea to many who live on Long Island or have business there….at least until the expense of building such a crossing (and the taxes or tolls necessary to support such a feat) is considered.
Via misc.transport.road, I came across a pointer to a WCBS-AM report that someone’s giving the concept serious thought again:
Developer Vincent Polimeni is heading consortium that is proposing the construction of a 16-mile-long tunnel under the Long Island Sound. The Cross Sound Link would go from Syosset to Rye.
A pdf file on the Cross Sound Link site goes into a few more details. The paragraph from the report that catches my eye:
No taxpayer dollars would be used to fund the $8 to $10 billion project. Tax-free bonds would be employed and investors around the world would have the option of purchasing
them, as they do for any significant infrastructure project. The bonds would be paid off by
the vehicular drivers who will pay as much as $30 to use the tunnel, but whose price would
rise or fall depending on congestion pricing strategies employed in concert with
transportation officials throughout the region.
Tolls of up to $30? Ouch!
I suppose it still beats the ferry fare (up to $61/car) and rush-hour traffic in the City….but that’s still enough pain to give serious consideration to the alternatives.