With a clearance of 151 feet, New Jersey's Bayonne Bridge is too low for today's larger ships.
With a project to widen the Panama Canal to accommodate the new larger cargo ships on track for completion in 2014, New Jersey ports could start losing business as ships heading to and from the Pacific Ocean begin using East Coast ports that do not have the same height restriction as the state’s existing bridges. U.S. Rep. Sires said he began pushing the Port Authority to solve the problem two years ago, when the Panama Canal project was slated for 2015 completion. But with the project running a year ahead of schedule, solving the Bayonne Bridge has become more critical. “We are trying to expedite things because the Panama Canal is moving faster,” Sires said. “I am going to get money from under a rock if necessary.”