Container ship lines were happy to see the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey decide how it wants to raise clearance for ships under the Bayonne Bridge. They’d be even happier if a construction schedule were in place.
The port authority hasn’t said how long it will take to raise the bridge’s roadway to accommodate bigger ships, but the job won’t be quick or cheap. A hint of things to come may be in New Orleans, where the widening of another 1930s span, the Huey P. Long Bridge over the Mississippi River, is a $1.2 billion, seven-year project.
Much has been made of the fact that the Bayonne Bridge won’t be raised in time for the scheduled 2014 opening of larger locks at the Panama Canal.