The New York State Thruway Authority should develop a better financial plan for replacing the 61-year old Tappan Zee Bridge, according to the State Comptroller's Office.
The Comptroller's office criticized the NYSTA in a May 19 letter for not having adequate "financial structures" to support the new $3.9 billion span to replace the 60-year-old bridge connecting Rockland and Westchester counties. The Authority issued $850 million of Series 2016A general revenue junior indebtedness obligations on May 4 priced by Citi to fund a portion a portion of the bridge project.
"The authority must make further efforts to ensure that the financing structures used to support both the [new bridge] project and the rest of the Thruway system are cost-effective for Thruway users and developed within the context of a long-term, comprehensive, system-wide financial plan," First Deputy Comptroller Pete Grannis wrote in the letter. "Such a plan would give toll payers and taxpayers a clearer picture of how the Authority intends to meet its current and future operating and capital needs for which it is now making significant financial commitments."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's fiscal 2017 budget included $2 billion in "stabilization funding" to support the new bridge and the entire Thruway system. He said this support will allow the Authority to freeze toll rates until at least 2020.
The Grannis letter states that the Authority has indicated plans to bond an additional $518 million in 2017 and 2018 for the bridge as well as approximately $660 million from 2018-2020 for other Thruway system repairs. NYSTA bonds were rated A3 by Moody's Investors Service and A-minus by Standard & Poor's ahead of the May 4 sale, but both rating agencies cited concerns about Authority's financial plan relying on likely toll increases after 2020.
The NYSTA is estimating that the new bridge will open in 2018. The Authority's toll revenues have exceeded estimates since 2012, according to an official statement for the May 4 sale.
"The Thruway Authority has a plan that allows us to meet all of our obligations for maintaining the entire system as well as completing work for the [new Tappan Zee Bridge' without the need for a toll adjustment," said NYSTA spokesman Shane Mahar.
