Bill Text: NJ AR54 | 2010-2011 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to formulate engineering and funding solution to impasse at Bayonne Bridge, which is too low to accommodate certain ships.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Passed) 2010-02-25 - Filed with Secretary of State [AR54 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2010-AR54-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALBERT COUTINHO
District 29 (Essex and Union)
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex)
Assemblywoman ANNETTE QUIJANO
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman L. GRACE SPENCER
District 29 (Essex and Union)
Assemblywoman BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN
District 15 (Mercer)
Assemblyman JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI
District 19 (Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Evans, Assemblymen Conaway and Moriarty
SYNOPSIS
Urges Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to formulate engineering and funding solution to impasse at Bayonne Bridge, which is too low to accommodate certain ships.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution urging the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to formulate an engineering and funding solution to the impasse at the Bayonne Bridge, which is too low to accommodate certain ships.
Whereas, The air clearance of the Bayonne Bridge is 151 feet at low tide, which is too low to accommodate many large ships calling on the Port of New York and New Jersey; and
Whereas, After the completion of the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014, the number of large ships requiring air clearance in excess of 151 feet will grow as more cargo is delivered directly to East Coast ports from Asia; and
Whereas, Eighty-eight percent of containerized cargo is delivered to New York and New Jersey Marine Terminals located west of the Bayonne Bridge; and
Whereas, If the bridge remains too low to accommodate these larger ships, the Port of New York and New Jersey will be put at a competitive disadvantage with ports in Norfolk, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Halifax, Nova Scotia, for access to new Asian cargo; and
Whereas, The Port of New York and New Jersey supports approximately 27,000 jobs in the region; and
Whereas, New Jersey could face a loss of jobs and business activity due to the competitive disadvantage caused by restriction of access at the Bayonne Bridge; and
Whereas, The Port Authority has received a study from the Army Corps of Engineers that validates the need to increase the air clearance from 151 feet to at least 215 feet, which is the available air clearance under the Bridge of the Americas on the Panama Canal; and
Whereas, It is important to develop an engineering and funding solution to the impasse at the Bayonne Bridge in time to seek funding support from available federal transportation funding programs; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is urged to formulate an engineering solution to the impasse at the Bayonne Bridge, and a funding plan to support the engineering solution, in time to seek funding support from available federal transportation funding programs.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and attested by the Clerk thereof, shall be transmitted to the Governor of the State of New Jersey, the Governor of the State of New York, the Board of Commissioners of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the President and Minority Leader of the New Jersey Senate, the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, and every member of Congress elected from this State.
3. This resolution shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to formulate an engineering solution to the impasse at the Bayonne Bridge.
The air clearance of the Bayonne Bridge is 151 feet at low tide, which is too low to accommodate many large ships calling on the Port of New York and New Jersey. After the completion of the expansion of the Panama Canal in 2014, the number of large ships requiring air clearance in excess of 151 feet will grow as more cargo is delivered directly to East Coast ports from Asia. Eighty-eight percent of containerized cargo is delivered to New York and New Jersey Marine Terminals located west of the Bayonne Bridge. If the bridge remains too low to accommodate these larger ships, the Port of New York and New Jersey will be put at a competitive disadvantage with ports in Norfolk, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, and Halifax, Nova Scotia for access to new Asian cargo. Port of New York and New Jersey supports approximately 27,000 jobs in the region, and New Jersey could face a loss of jobs and business activity due to the competitive disadvantage caused by restriction of access at the Bayonne Bridge.
The Port Authority has received a study from the Army Corps of Engineers that validates the need to increase the air clearance from 151 feet to at least 215 feet, which is the available air clearance under the Bridge of the Americas on the Panama Canal. It is important to develop an engineering and funding solution to the impasse at the Bayonne Bridge in time to seek funding support from available federal transportation funding programs.
