STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The recently raised roadway of the Bayonne Bridge is now open to more travelers than ever.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Friday that the shared use path for bicyclists and pedestrians on the Bayonne Bridge is officially opened to the public.

“What we’re here to do today is to open the shared use path of the new Bayonne Bridge and it’s an exciting day for the Port Authority,” said Rick Cotton, the agency’s executive director.

The 12-foot-wide shared use path, expected to draw commuters and recreational users, will be open daily from 6 a.m. to midnight, subject to closure due to inclement weather.

The 8,400-foot path, spanning from Trantor Place in Staten Island to John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Bayonne, includes a 9-foot-tall pedestrian safety fence installed along the outer railing.

“This enables us to do two things. One is to provide the biking community, and it is well-represented here today, with a facility that will accommodate biking, both for people who are doing it recreationally and are doing it as a matter of transport,” Cotton said.

The shared use path provides eco-friendly travel options to local commuters, staying in line with the Port Authority’s ongoing commitment to reducing its carbon footprint and preserving the environment.

“The other aspect is the Port Authority has committed itself to being environmentally sensitive and this represents another initiative. We’ve signed up to the Paris Accords, we’re committed to reducing our carbon impact, reducing our contribution to pollution, and by being in a position to enable and encourage bike riding, we think that is a very important aspect of our sustainability priority,” Cotton continued.

The Bayonne Bridge, opened in 1931, has long featured a pedestrian walkway, though it had been closed to the public since 2013, due to ongoing construction related to the Raise the Roadway project.

The nearly $1.7 billion project, which began construction in 2013, elevated the deck of the Bayonne Bridge from 151 feet to 215 feet in order to accommodate larger, 21st-century container ships that were unable to fit under the bridge’s previous configuration.

The raised roadway initially opened on Feb. 20, 2017, allowing larger vessels to reach Port Newark and Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal in New Jersey, as well as Global Container Terminals New York in Mariners Harbor.

However, the bridge opened while only allowing one lane of traffic in each direction, with additional work required to expand the bridge’s width to meet modern transportation standards.

On Feb. 11, the Bayonne Bridge’s 1,651-foot-long main span roadway opened featuring two, 12-foot-wide lanes in each direction, as well as outside and inside shoulders.

Additional work was required to complete the approaches on both ends of the bridge, delaying the opening of the shared use path to the spring.

A shared use path on the new Goethals Bridge is expected to open by the end of the summer, though the Port Authority could not provide an exact timeline.