Don't miss the boat on shipping

Baltimore Sun: "Even before the Post-Panamax ships come calling, many of our ports already suffer from severe congestion, which slows down shipping and increases costs for consumers. For example, while the Port of Baltimore has the appropriate depth, a critical nearby rail tunnel is more than 140 years old. That Civil War-era tunnel is not tall enough to allow for trains double-stacked with containers to pass through, creating a cargo bottle neck. In New York, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is raising the height of the Bayonne Bridge from 151 feet to 215 feet to accommodate larger ships that need to enter the port."

Port Authority is Spending $1.3B to Raise the Bayonne Bridge 64 Feet. Why?

Jersey Digs: "Why exactly are we investing so heavily in raising the bridge? Well, according to New York YIMBY, who published a great piece detailing the project, it’s the direct result of another mega-project 2,200 miles away. Finishing up later this year, the Panama Canal locks have undergone an expansion to accommodate new, larger container ships. As a result, the ports in the NYC area need to be able to service these ships. Currently, the Bayonne Bridge would prevent these new ships from reaching the Ports of Newark, Elizabeth and Staten Island’s Howland Hook."

How Should Astoria Celebrate the Hell Gate Bridge's 100th Anniversary?

DNAinfo.com New York: "Community leaders are planning a centennial for the hulking red span, which connects Queens and the Bronx by way of the East River, and will hold a public meeting in Astoria Tuesday to solicit ideas on how it should celebrate the milestone."

WATCH: Time-Lapse Video Shows Cranes Working On Bayonne...

WATCH: Time-Lapse Video Shows Cranes Working On Bayonne...: "The project marks the first time engineers are building a bridge roadway above the original span, even as the lower road continues to carry traffic,” a Port Authority blog post states. “It will maintain the steel arch that makes the Bayonne Bridge a civil engineering landmark, while giving drivers a safer, wider and more modern roadway with 12-foot lanes, new shoulders, a median divider, and a 12-foot bike and pedestrian walkway"

Raising the Road on America’s Largest Suspended Arch Bridge

New York YIMBY: "In general, new construction reflects local real estate demand and community needs. But given New York’s position as a global economic hub, it is not surprising that one of the city’s largest engineering efforts is a direct response to a megaproject 2,200 miles away. The suspended roadbed of the 84-year-old Bayonne Bridge, which spans the Kill Van Kull strait between Staten Island and Bayonne, N.J., is too low for passage of the latest, giant container ships built to traverse the expanded Panama Canal locks."

Push to expand capacity of jam-packed Outerbridge Crossing

SILive.com: "Borelli gave the Port Authority credit for its projects to raise the Bayonne Bridge and rebuild the Goethals, but knowing how long of a process it is to complete the Environmental Impact Statement process and everything in between before construction can begin, he hopes the agency will get started soon."

Bayonne Bridge will remain open this weekend for Passover observance

NJ.com: "The Bayonne Bridge will remain open from 5 a.m. tomorrow through 9 a.m. Monday for the observance of Passover, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey."

Panama Canal threatens West Coast ports' regained market share

JOC.com: "Wheeler said that initially the current strings of vessels with capacities up to 5,000 twenty-foot-equivalent units will be upgraded to about 8,000-TEUs. In late 2017 or shortly thereafter, when the Bayonne Bridge in New Jersey is raised and bigger ships can be accommodated at the largest East Coast port of New York and New Jersey, vessels of 10,000- to 12,000-TEU capacity will be introduced into all-water services through the Panama Canal, he said."

Container lines can reserve neo-Panamax transits through expanded canal

JOC.com: "Ships that receive bookings must arrive at the canal by 10 p.m. local time the day before their transit. If a ship is late, the cost of transit goes up by 25 percent for each hour until the fourth hour, after which the cost of sailing will be equivalent to one additional transit.

Click to Enlarge
Cancellation fees vary depending on the time frame within which the cancellation occurs, and transits canceled with less than 36-hours notice will have to be paid in full.

Slots will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis that takes into account current booking rules, customer ranking and “other tie-breaker criteria.”"

Bayonne Bridge construction project continues

NJ.com: "The bridge will remain open from 5 a.m. this Friday through 9 a.m. Monday for Passover weekend."

City announces updates to Bayonne Bridge construction project

NJ.com: "Bayonne Bridge travel alerts and advisories: Port Authority Bridge and Tunnel Alerts is a free subscription service that notifies customers of 20 minute holds, bridge closures, incidents or events that may delay trips across the Bayonne Bridge or other Port Authority bridges and tunnels. Go to http://www.paalerts.com  and click on Register for Port Authority Alerts"

Deutsche Bank to sell Maher Terminals at Port of NY-NJ

JOC.com: "The port’s deepening to 50 feet will be complete in June following a delay due to Hurricane Sandy, and the Bayonne Bridge raising will be done by the end of 2017. At that point the coast will be clear for most of the largest ships in the world to call the port, putting pressure on the terminals and port authority to boost productivity. There is no chassis pool yet and appointment systems are in their infancy."

Another Staten Island Expressway calamity (editorial)

SILive.com: "Congestion filtered back as far as the Outerbridge Crossing. Thankfully, the Bayonne Bridge's regularly scheduled, construction-related shutdown was delayed for two hours, giving motorists at least one way to escape the borough, if that was their goal."

Bayonne Bridge to Close This Weekend - Bayonne NJ News

TAPinto: "The Bayonne Bridge will close from 9 p.m. Friday, April 15 through 8 a.m. Sunday, April 17 to accommodate ongoing construction work for the “Raise the Roadway” project.

Next week, the bridge will remain open from 5 a.m. Friday, April 22 through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, April 23, for the celebration of Passover."

Port of NY & NJ Plans for 30 Years of Growth

Port of NY & NJ Plans for 30 Years of Growth: "The largest container vessels cannot presently call at its largest facilities, which suffer from an air draft restriction imposed by the Bayonne Bridge, with a clearance of 150 feet. Contractors are presently working on raising the roadway further up the span's arch to bring maximum air draft to 215 feet – sufficient to handle New Panamax vessels – and the improved clearance is expected for late 2017, with full completion in mid-2019."

Traffic moving again on Staten Island Expressway

SILive.com: "The Bayonne Bridge, an alternate traffic route for commuters, remained open, during the traffic jam. The Bayonne was closed for construction at 11 a.m. and was scheduled to reopen at 3 p.m. for the evening rush hour."

The Top 10 Secrets of the Bayonne Bridge

Untapped Cities: "Though not one of New York City’s most famous bridges, the Bayonne Bridge was a record breaking bridge – longer than the Sydney Harbour Bridge – and changes are en route for this connection that stretches between Staten Island and Bayonne, New Jersey. With help from Bridge Man, Dave Frieder, here are 10 secrets of the Bayonne Bridge:"

The Bayonne Bridge project progresses while you sleep

SILive.com: "A video and photos produced by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey provide an up close view of the work of the two giant cranes — one at either end of the bridge — that are laying down the roadbed."

Vying For #1

Working Harbor Committee: "The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has issued a request for proposals (PDF download) – calling for a 30-year master plan for the Port of NY/NJ to help boost cargo volumes and revenues."

NY-NJ port to develop master plan

JOC.com: "The $1.3 billion project to raise the Bayonne Bridge’s roadway for clearance by larger ships will produce additional changes to cargo flows within the port. The roadway-raising part of that project is scheduled for completion by the end of 2017."

Bayonne Bridge to close 90 minutes earlier each night

NJ.com: "The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Friday that the bridge — which had been closing at 8:30 every Monday through Thursday, will now shut down at 7 p.m. each of those nights. The bridge reopens at 5 a.m., and the weekday schedule of daytime closures will remain the same."

A look at the history of New York City’s tunnels and bridges

NY Daily News: "There are more than 2,000 bridges and tunnels in and around New York City. Some, of course, are better known — and more expensive — than others."

Bayonne Bridge to close 90 minutes earlier each night

NJ.com: "The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced today that the bridge -- which had been closing at 8:30 every Monday through Thursday, will now shut down at 7 p.m. each of those nights. The bridge reopens at 5 a.m. and the weekday schedule of daytime closures will remain the same."

Bayonne Bridge to close this weekend for construction

SILive.com: "To accommodate "Raise the Roadway" construction and minimize traffic, the bridge will close at 9 p.m. Friday and reopen at 5 a.m. Monday."

Hapag-Lloyd Eyes Impact of New Grand

Hapag-Lloyd Eyes Impact of New Grand: "The expansion of the Panama Canal has set in motion a whole chain of logistics projects. And they aren’t always completed on time. For example, the Bayonne Bridge at the entrance to the important Port of New York will not have the higher clearance needed for bigger ships before 2017."

MTA commits to new West Shore light rail study

SILive.com: "The proposed West Shore light rail would run about 13 miles from Richmond Valley to Elm Park, carrying Island commuters over the Bayonne Bridge to connect with New Jersey Transit's Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Line."

Port of New York & New Jersey: Dealing with success

AJOT.COM: "The Bayonne Bridge roadway is being raised to accommodate the new breed of megaships. That project’s timetable was revised a few months ago."

Panama Canal Expansion to Officially Open June 2016

Working Harbor Committee: "Originally scheduled for October 2014, the official inauguration of the “third locks” is scheduled for June 26, 2016 after multiple delays due to materials failures, disputes over costs, and worker strikes."

West Coast ports back on track for growth

JOC.com: "Vessel sizes probably sill remain less than 10,000 TEUs, however, because of a clearance problem at the Bayonne Bridge in New Jersey and water depth issues in the South Atlantic."

Keeping pace

Port Strategy: "That said, while a terminal needs to be planning for longer quays, bigger cranes, deeper water, and high container exchanges on and off the ship, there can also be an impact on the surrounding infrastructure. For example, the raising of the Bayonne Bridge to allow access to key container terminals in the Port of New York/New Jersey and the Gerald Desmond Bridge replacement project in Southern California are just two noted and well-publicised projects that will allow bigger ships to access key terminals in the US."

Bayonne Bridge to stay open for Easter weekend, Port Authority says

NJ.com: "The bridge will stay open all day today and will remain open through 9 a.m. Monday, the bi-state agency said."

The U.S. Isn’t Ready for Something That Could Drastically Change the Global Economy

Foreign Policy: "In practice, however, East Coast ports simply aren’t ready for the massive ships the canal can soon let pass; they aren’t deep enough. Dredging projects in Norfolk and Charleston, S.C., are behind schedule; the latter isn’t expected to be completed until 2020. And the raising of the Bayonne Bridge roadway, a $1.3 billion project that is key to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s efforts to attract larger ships, isn’t expected to be done until next year. And much of the rail and highway infrastructure to move more containers away from the coast is not yet in place."

U.S. East Coast ports not ready for Panama Canal expansion

Reuters: "Wang singled out the raising of the Bayonne Bridge linking New York and New Jersey to allow larger, new ships to pass under it as a choke point for carriers, as it is years behind schedule. The Bayonne Bridge project is "just delays, delays, delays," he said."

A city in change Bayonne progress is starting to show

Hudson Reporter: "Collins Park, the largest of the three in the shadow of the Bayonne Bridge, has about $360,000 in Port Authority money for some revisions. Improvements, which will begin in the spring and finish by July, will renovate the skate park, resurface turf on various courts, and upgrade pedestrian paths. "

Bayonne Bridge to close Friday night through Saturday

SILive.com: "To accommodate "Raise the Roadway" construction and to minimize traffic, the bridge will close at 9 p.m. on Friday and reopen at 8 a.m. on Sunday."

Bayonne Bridge to close tonight until Sunday morning

NJ.com: "The Bayonne Bridge will be closed from 9 p.m. tonight until 8 a.m. on Sunday due to ongoing construction work on the "Raise the Roadway" project, the Port Authority has announced."

Body found floating in water near Bayonne Bridge

SILive.com: "Several NYPD and FDNY vehicles and personnel are stationed off of Morningstar Road and Richmond Terrace in Elm Park as part of the emergency response. The floating body was reported around 8:15 a.m. based on emergency radio transmissions."

Bayonne Bridge to close Saturday for construction

Hudson Reporter: "The Bayonne Bridge will close from 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 4 through 8 a.m. Sunday, March 6, to accommodate ongoing construction work for the “Raise the Roadway” project, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced."

Bayonne Bridge

Giant Cranes Give the Bayonne a Much-Needed Lift |: "Known as segment-launching gantries, or gantry cranes, these mechanical giants haul and install the 70-ton concrete segments that make up the roadways. As big as they are – 500 feet long and 1 million pounds each – they work with finesse and precision, moving the roadway segments into just the right place for human workers to bind them with steel, epoxy and more concrete."

Onslaught of mega-ships to test US East and West Coast ports

JOC.com: "Some East Coast ports are deepening their harbors, while New York-New Jersey is raising the height of the Bayonne Bridge to allow passage underneath by the bigger ships. All major gateways must pay greater attention to their gate processes to avoid the long truck queues that ports on both coasts struggled with last year. "

Port Authority: $56M ship-to-rail facility in Bayonne will transport cargo

Hudson County View: "With some Bayonne residents expressing a concern that the ship-to-rail facility adjacent to GCT Bayonne would serve as a garbage transfer station, in light of Mayor Jimmy Davis mentioning the project at the Hudson County Alliance for Action breakfast on Tuesday.

“As a region, I am happy to say that plans are in the works to invest approximately $56 million in a new ship-to-rail facility adjacent to Global Contain Terminals in Bayonne,” Davis said at the event, where Hudson County View was the only media outlet in attendance."

Bayonne Bridge to close this weekend for construction

Hudson Reporter: " The Bayonne Bridge will close from 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 through 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 29, to accommodate ongoing construction work on the “Raise the Roadway” project, the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey announced."

Bayonne Mayor Davis talks Turnpike 14A, Bayonne Bridge, $56M ship-to rail facility

Hudson County View: “This project will allow our waterways to accommodate larger ships entering our ports, translating to increased commerce.”

The Strange History Of NYC's Mighty Hell Gate

Gothamist: "Oh Hell Gate Bridge, you pink-skinned, "unwanted stepchild" of New York's transit system. You will turn 100 this year, most likely to little fanfare or publicity. But it's a comfort to know that you're out there, lurking in the night, a testament to human ingenuity."

Mega-ship christening sends message to US ports to prepare

JOC.com: "“The big issue for the East Coast is infrastructure,” he said, noting that the key infrastructure development, raising the height of the Bayonne Bridge to allow for passage of mega-ships like the Benjamin Franklin, is still more than a year away."

Barriers to Improving Our Crumbling Infrastructure

Berkeley Political Review: "A comprehensive report conducted by the Common Group found that simplifying lengthy, often multi-year-long review processes can cut project costs by over 50 percent! For instance, the Bayonne Bridge roadway project in New Jersey had no significant environmental impact. Yet the government required what turned out to be a five-year, 20 thousand page environmental assessment, only to be found after completion that the review was inadequate."

Bridge piers for Bayonne Bridge-raising project almost complete -- and other updates

NJ.com: "The project will also provide commuters with a modern roadway with 12-foot lanes and a 12-foot shared lane for bicyclists and pedestrians."

Light Rail System Needed to Link Staten Island and Jersey, De Blasio Told

DNAinfo.com New York: "Many Islanders would gladly ditch their vehicles if they had a viable alternative — such as a rail or bus-rapid-transit link that connects the borough’s West and South shores to New Jersey and Manhattan via the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail."

Montclair broker targeting home buyers from Jersey City, Hoboken

NJ.com: "The development boom along the Gold Coast — the area from the Bayonne Bridge to the George Washington Bridge — has been attracting young professionals and empty nesters to flee the suburbs, but Kettle thinks a tour of Montclair, one of dozens of places that has been called New York City's sixth borough, will make them flee right back."

N.J. truckers: Expect catastrophic congestion if port doesn't make changes

NJ.com: "The completion of the $1.3 billion effort to raise the Bayonne Bridge will soon allow massive, high-volume container ships to stream into our already-congested marine terminals. Without widespread reform, how will we keep commerce moving, when the port's infrastructure can't even handle the volume we have now?"

Bayonne Bridge to close this weekend for construction

Hudson Reporter: "Weather permitting, the Bayonne Bridge will close this weekend from 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 19 through 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 22, to accommodate ongoing construction work on the "Raise the Roadway" project."

Bayonne Bridge Video Update

Update on progress of $1.3 billion Bayonne Bridge-raising project

NJ.com: "Construction at the bridge piers on the Bayonne side of the Bayonne Bridge are nearing completion, according to a Port Authority update on the project to raise the bridge, Bayonne Mayor Jimmy Davis said."

Bayonne Bridge construction 4/17/15

Advance historic page from August 10, 1977

SILive.com: "The toll on Port Authority bridges, including the Outerbridge Crossing, Bayonne and Goethals bridges, may stay at $1.50 round-trip, after the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) rules in favor of the cost. "

Bayonne Bridge closure this weekend shortened due to extreme cold

NJ.com: " Due to extremely cold temperatures and predicted high winds for this weekend, the full-day Saturday closure planned for the Bayonne Bridge has been shortened to end at 8 a.m., the Port Authority said.

The bridge will close from 11:59 p.m. tonight through 8 a.m. Saturday, the bi-state agency said."

Bayonne Bridge will be closed Friday night until Saturday afternoon

NJ.com: "The Bayonne Bridge will be closed this weekend from 11:59 p.m. on Friday until 4 p.m. on Saturday due to ongoing construction on the "Raise the Roadway" project, the Port Authority has announced."

As the turbine turns Problem with bearing resolved fix on the horizon

Hudson Reporter: "The work to install the piece will require the closing of the 5th Street entrance to Route 440. The BMUA, Mayor’s Office, and the city departments of Police, Fire, Office of Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, and Public Works will all be involved in preparing for the project. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, New Jersey Turnpike Authority, and the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office will be notified as well. “We have to include the Port Authority because of the Bayonne Bridge work at the south end of town, and the Turnpike at the other end because of work at the toll plaza and the effect on Global [Terminal] operations,” Boyle said. “The north end could be impacted because of truck jams, and the south end with the work on the bridge. And we have to take a road out of service. Nobody here wants to do anything until we all get on the same page.”"

Our top 7 priorities, North Shore leaders tell the mayor

SILive.com: "Build a gymnasium for PS 21 in Elm Park. At a time when the city's avowed policy is to ensure that our children get proper nutrition and ample exercise, the lack of a gymnasium is a mark against the Department of Education which the city must correct.  And to make matters worse, whatever outdoor recreational areas the children could use have been destroyed as an aftermath of the Bayonne Bridge raising project."

Fluor: Out of Favor, but Not Out of Luck

The Motley Fool: "Thanks to Panama Canal expansion, there's urgent need to adapt harbors to larger vessels, such as increasing the clearance under New Jersey's Bayonne Bridge."

The Port Authority Leviathan

City Journal Winter 2016: "A radical plan to raise the roadway of the Bayonne Bridge, to allow a new generation of larger container ships to pass underneath it, could cost $1.3 billion."

Map: The Bridge Empire of One of NYC's Most Prolific Builders

Curbed NY: "If the name Othmar Ammann doesn't ring a bell, it's about time that it should: The Swiss-born engineer is the man responsible for nearly half of New York City's most magnificent bridges, including some of the most recent constructions ("recent" being relative, of course)."

Bayonne Bridge to stay open today

NJ.com: "Motorists traveling to and from Bayonne today will have access to the Bayonne Bridge, which will remain open instead of closing for regularly scheduled construction, according to a Port Authority alert."

Bayonne Bridge to be closed from Friday night until Sunday morning

NJ.com: "The Bayonne Bridge will be closed this weekend from 11:59 p.m. on Friday until 8 a.m. on Sunday due to ongoing construction on the "Raise the Roadway" project, the Port Authority has announced."

Bayonne Bridge Update

Hudson TV: "Bayonne Bridge Travel Alerts & Advisories: Port Authority Bridge & Tunnel Alerts is a free subscription service that notifies customers of 20 minute holds, bridge closures, incidents or events that may delay trips across the Bayonne Bridge or other Port Authority bridges and tunnels. Go to http://www.paalerts.com and click on Register for Port Authority Alerts"

Bayonne Bridge to close this weekend for construction

SILive.com: "To accommodate "Raise the Roadway" construction work, and to minimize traffic, the bridge will close at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 29, and will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday, Feb. 1."

After region's pummeling by blizzard, when will Port Authority bridges and tunnels reopen?

NJ.com: "All Port Authority bridges and tunnels will reopen at 7 a.m. Sunday, the bistate agency said in a news release.

The George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Bayonne Bridge, Goethals Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing were closed at the height of the storm."

Travel into New York City banned due to dangerous snowstorm conditions

News 12 New Jersey: "Traveling into New York City has now been banned due to dangerous conditions from the snowstorm.
The ban went into effect at 2:30 p.m. Gov. Chris Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the joint travel ban Saturday afternoon.
The governors are requiring all Port Authority bridges and tunnels into the city to close. This includes the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel, Bayonne Bridge, Goethals Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing."

Bayonne Bridge to close Friday night, remain open through weekend storm

SILive.com: "The Port Authority plans to close the bridge between 9 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22, and 5 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, to accommodate "Raise The Roadway" construction and some storm preparations, like preliminary salting.

Usual, off-peak weekday closures are scheduled to resume on Monday, with bridge closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and overnight from 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m."

Bayonne bridge construction: Port Authority, city officials issue Jan. 19 updates

NJ.com: "The "Raise the Roadway" project, which began in May 2013 and is slated to be completed by 2017, is designed to raise the navigational clearance under the crossing to 215 feet to allow larger, modern ships to travel under it. The project will also provide commuters with a modern roadway with 12-foot lanes and a 12-foot shared lane for bicyclists and pedestrians."

First widespread snowfall wreaks icy havoc on roads

NJ.com: "On the bi-state Bayonne Bridge, a slippery roadway appeared to contribute to a three-car accident that injured one person at about 7:30 p.m., said Joe Pentangelo, a spokesman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey."

Bayonne Bridge to close Friday night to Sunday morning

Hudson Reporter: "The bridge will close at 11:59 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, and will reopen at 8 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 17. "

The 10 most underrated things about New Jersey

NJ.com: "7. The Pulaski Skyway. I was tempted to put the Bayonne Bridge on this list on the advice of our Brian Donohue, but the Skyway prevailed. "

MN-WI St. Croix River bridge project plagued by labor, material shortages delayed 1 year

Construction Dive: "The last few months have brought other announcements of delays on high-profile bridge projects as well. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority in New York said the $1.5 billion rehabilitation of New York City’s Verrazano Bridge will take approximately 25 years, and the "Raise the Roadway" Bayonne Bridge project will not be completed until two years after its original completion date."

Big ships, big data and other big ideas: East Cost ports leaders share outlook

Post and Courier: "Newsome, in the magazine’s report, says expansion of the Panama Canal this year and raising the Bayonne Bridge in New Jersey next year will lead to containerships carrying as many as 13,000 cargo boxes visiting East Coast ports."

Bayonne Bridge plaque

Bayonne Bridge plaque | via Flickr

High water causes carriers to skip New Orleans calls

JOC.com: "At the Port of New York and New Jersey, the Bayonne Bridge has a 151-foot clearance that is too low for some container ships."

Bayonne Bridge one of the subjects of Men's Forum

NJ.com: "Mike Valletta, an engineer with the New York/New Jersey Port Authority, will speak to the Men's Forum on Tuesday, Jan. 19, and tell his audience the engineering challenges faced with "the Bayonne Bridge and Other PANYNJ Projects."

Bayonne Bridge closing Friday night through Sunday morning

Hudson Reporter: "The bridge will be closed beginning 11:59 p.m. Friday and will reopen at 8 a.m. Sunday."

Toll hikes rile motorists Bayonne Bridge can be costly

Hudson Reporter: "The increase in the Bayonne Bridge toll from $14 to $15 on Dec. 6 for cash-paying customers in regular passenger vehicles does not sit well with many motorists."

Panama President Says Canal Expansion To Be Complete by May

Working Harbor Committee: "After several delays resulting from worker disputes to a dire-looking leak in the new locks, the Panamanian President has said the Panama Canal Expansion Project will be completed in May of this year."

Explainer: Port Authority Oversees Region’s Trade and Key Transportation Links

NJ Spotlight: "The agency is roughly halfway through a massive $1.3 billion capital project to raise the Bayonne Bridge enough to enable the newest, largest class of “Panamax” ships to pass underneath."

Giant Container Ships Arrive On US Shores, But Many Ports Not Prepared For Era Of Megaships

International Business Times: "In New York and New Jersey, the joint port authority is carrying out a more than $1 billion plan to raise the Bayonne Bridge connecting Staten Island and New Jersey to allow for taller vessels."

Bayonne Bridge to stay open through New Year's holiday weekend

NJ.com: "The Bayonne Bridge will stay open through the New Year's holiday weekend and resume its regular weekday closures on Monday, the Port Authority announced.

Beginning Monday, the bridge will follow its regular schedule of daily closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and overnight closures from 8:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. as construction continues on the "Raise the Roadway" project, the bi-state agency said."

The Panama Connection

HOIST Magazine: "One of the most significant is a major reconfiguration of the Bayonne port Global terminal, one of five terminals in the New Jersey/New York port complex which services one of the largest markets in the US with a catchment of around 30M.
The terminal, appropriately operated by Global Container Terminals, is the only one on the outside of the Kill Van Kull, the main channel passing into the large Newark and Port Elizabeth area. Sitting on the end of the Bayonne peninsula it is the only terminal unaffected by a headroom restriction for ships passing under the famous Bayonne bridge which connects New Jersey to Staten Island.
A $1.2bn project is underway to reconfigure the bridge which will lift its road deck 20m to give a navigational clearance of 66.1m by late 2017, but until than GCT has a significant competitive edge says the GCT project manager for new terminal Rich Ceci. "We are the only terminal that will take the big Suez and new Panama ships" he says. Water draft is being increased to 15.2m and a new marine to rail transshipment zone is part of the works."

Top Bayonne news stories of 2015 | NJ.com

NJ.com: "Bayonne Bridge construction delayed by two years

Five months after city residents living near the Bayonne Bridge and its ongoing construction expressed outrage at their reduced quality of life at a public meeting, the Port Authority announced on Oct. 1 that the project had been set back by two years and would not be completed until mid-2019."

Harbor Pilots Called to Steer Larger Ships

WSJ: "The largest vessels have only a few feet to maneuver in some port channels; stacked-up megaships come within inches of scraping the bottom of the Bayonne Bridge on their way into Newark’s terminals"

With mass transit, talk is cheap: Riders need results (editorial)

SILive.com: "South Shore residents have the Staten Island Railway. Many North Shore residents, marooned as they are in a forgotten "transit desert," have zero alternatives, short of driving to the ferry. Of course, they would have options if the MTA would consider running light rail line across the Bayonne Bridge to connect with NJ Transit, but the powers that be have ruled that out."

Bayonne Bridge to stay open from Dec. 23 to Jan. 4

NJ.com: "The Bayonne Bridge will stay open from 5 a.m. on Dec. 23 until 9 a.m. on Jan. 4, city officials announced today."

Bayonne Bridge to close this weekend stay open for holidays

Hudson Reporter: "The Bayonne Bridge will close overnight Friday into Saturday morning, and then overnight Saturday into Sunday morning, to accommodate ongoing construction work on the bridge project, according to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

But the bridge will be open for the holidays, from 5 a.m. Dec. 23 until 9 a.m. Jan. 4."

Bayonne Bridge "Raise the Roadway" Year End Newsletter

Bayonne Bridge "Raise the Roadway" Newsletter

White-Skanska-Kiewit ousted from over-budget Boston Green Line extension

Construction Dive: "Sweden-based Skanska, one of the largest construction companies in the world, has seen a run of bad luck on some high-profile projects in the U.S. recently. Those include the Apple "spaceship" campus, where the contractor was also removed from the job, and the delayed Bayonne Bridge rehab."

A tale of two boroughs, toll-wise (editorial)

SILive.com: "That battle was fought and lost four years ago when Govs. Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie signed off on the Port Authority's plan for incremental toll hikes on the grounds that the authority has had to pay enormous sums for such important projects as the World Trade Center reconstruction, the ongoing Bayonne Bridge's "Raise the Roadway" project and replacing the Goethals Bridge."

Bayonne Bridge to close for whole weekend

Hudson Reporter: "The bridge will close at 9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 11, and will reopen at 5 a.m. Monday, Dec. 14."

NY-NJ terminal to start truck appointments in January

JOC.com: "Truckers have complained about long turn times at GCT Bayonne, the only New York-New Jersey terminal able to handle ships too large to pass under the Bayonne Bridge until the raising of the bridge’s roadway is completed in late 2017."

Truck congestion at PANYNJ

Port Strategy "GCT Bayonne is the only option for the largest ships arriving at the US east coast’s busiest port. The Bayonne Bridge’s 151ft height limits clearance for all other ships than can access terminals in New Jersey or on Staten Island, New York."

New Jersey: Garden of Opportunity

New Jersey: Garden of Opportunity: "The third largest seaport in North America and the largest maritime cargo center on the East Coast, the Port of New York and New Jersey serves as a North American gateway for international freight and a leading hub for domestic cargo. To accommodate post-Panamax activity at Port Newark/Elizabeth, a $743.3 million rebuilding project to raise the clearance of the Bayonne Bridge is currently underway to accommodate larger ships coming from Asia to the East Coast after the expansion of the Panama Canal."

Bayonne Bridge to close Friday and Saturday nights

NJ.com: "The bridge will be closed from 11:59 p.m. on Friday until 8 a.m. Saturday, and will also be closed from 9 p.m. on Saturday until 5 a.m. on Sunday, the Port Authority said. From 5 a.m. on Sunday onward, the bridge will remain open."

Court Upholds Environmental Review and Dismisses Challenge to Bayonne Bridge Project

Sive, Paget & Riesel: "After examining the EA and the extensive record, Judge Ronnie Abrams rejected all of the plaintiffs’ arguments, holding that the Coast Guard satisfied its obligations under NEPA. The Court found that the Coast Guard “adequately considered and disclosed” the Project’s induced growth impacts, even though the agency relied on the results of an expert’s proprietary model and data. Regarding construction, the Court found that the protective measures built into the Project rendered insignificant any potential temporary construction impacts. In addition, the Court found that the Coast Guard sufficiently analyzed the cumulative impacts of the Project and rationally concluded that the Project would not disproportionately burden minority or low income communities. The Court also ruled that the Coast Guard complied with NEPA’s public participation requirements and correctly determined that an EIS was unnecessary."

Hudson River tolls set to go up again on Sunday

NJ.com: "The final bite of the Port Authority's toll increase will come early Sunday morning, when the cash toll increases to $15 for passenger vehicles at the Hudson River and Staten Island crossings."