Westchester to Long Island tunnel would cost up to $55 billion, study shows

ALBANY - Gov. Andrew Cuomo this week pledged to continue pursuing a long-discussed plan to build a tunnel from Long Island to Westchester or Connecticut.

But it won't come cheap, according to a state-funded study released Friday.

An 18-mile tunnel from Rye or Port Chester in Westchester to Syosset on Long Island would cost an estimated $31.5 to $55.4 billion, the study found.

But the tunnel would cut travel times by up to an hour, according to the analysis prepared by WSP, a global engineering firm based in Montreal.

A span connecting Long Island to Connecticut would cost less but still carry a significant price tag, with estimates ranging from $13 billion for a bridge to up to $32 billion for a bridge-tunnel hybrid, the report shows.

The state Department of Transportation provided the 82-page study to the USA TODAY Network's Albany Bureau on Friday after Cuomo mentioned it during his eighth State of the State address Wednesday.

Findings emerge

The study shows a tunnel crossing the Long Island Sound is technically feasible and would reduce travel time and congestion while improving air quality.

But the cost estimates show the significant financial challenges that would come with building such a crossing, far outpacing the $4 billion price tag to replace the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The price tag makes it unlikely a private entity would pick up the entire cost, but a public-private partnership could be possible in certain situations, the study noted.

In his State of the State message, Cuomo called the idea of a tunnel "transformative."

"It would be underwater," Cuomo said. "It would be invisible. It would reduce traffic on the impossible congested Long Island Expressway and would offer potential significant private investment."

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Read: WSP's study of a Westchester-to-Long Island tunnel

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A potential tunnel or bridge across the Long Island Sound has been debated for decades, with a state lawmaker first proposing one in the 1930s and the idea picking up steam with Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and master builder Robert Moses in the 1960s.

In the mid-2000s, a Long Island businessman advanced a plan for a tunnel between Nassau County and Rye.

New ideas

Cuomo picked up on the idea in 2016 when he secured $5 million for DOT to study whether a tunnel is plausible.

Since then, DOT had been tight-lipped about the issue, acknowledging the study was under way but declining to say who was conducting it.

That changed Friday, when DOT released the WSP study and said it had come in under budget. DOT didn't say how much it ultimately cost.

"Governor Cuomo has directed DOT to conduct additional engineering, environmental and financial analysis that is necessary to determine the best path forward for this transformative project," DOT spokesman Joseph Morrissey said in a statement.

Various proposals over the years have raised concerns from Westchester residents and officials who fear a tunnel could increase traffic along I-287 and I-95, both of which already have plenty of congestion.

Assemblyman Steve Otis, D-Rye, said Friday he had not been briefed on the DOT's feasibility study or what the next steps for the tunnel idea may be.

Otis had been mayor of the Rye in 2007 when a Long Island businessman proposed a privately financed tunnel to the city and has long expressed concern about the impact it would have on traffic in the lower Hudson Valley.

"I think that the dialogue with Westchester communities will have to be focused on the traffic issues, and I think that when we crunch those issues, my expectation is that the state agencies and the governor will be supportive and will work with Westchester communities regarding their concerns," Otis said Friday before the study was released.

Locations considered

When Cuomo had originally proposed the study in 2016, he signaled three potential landing spots for the crossing: Westchester, Connecticut or the Bronx.

The Bronx, however, dropped out of the plans at some point, with the WSP study focusing specifically on Westchester and Connecticut.

The study centers on various alignments between Oyster Bay, Kings Park and Wading River on Long Island; Rye and Port Chester in Westchester; and Bridgeport, Milford, New Haven and Branford in Connecticut.

The cost estimates vary widely.

A single tunnel tube with two lanes each way between Oyster Bay and Rye or Port Chester, for example, would carry an estimated $31.5 billion price tag, according to WSP.

A dual-tube tunnel with three lanes each way would reach $55.4 billion, while a bridge-tunnel hybrid would come in at $43.5 billion.

A bridge, meanwhile, would be significantly less expensive -- about $8 billion, according to the estimate -- but isn't technically viable, the study found.

A bridge from Kings Park to Rye or Port Chester would cost an estimated $17.5 billion, with a bridge-tunnel hybrid coming in at $27 billion. That alignment, however, would have significantly less daily demand among motorists, according to WSP.

Cuomo focused specifically on a tunnel in his remarks Wednesday.

To Connecticut, a bridge-tunnel hybrid to Bridgeport comes in at an estimated $22.7 billion. To New Haven, the cost would rise to $32 billion.

A spokesperson for Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy did not immediately return a request for comment Friday.

Years of study are still needed before any tunnel proposal can move ahead, the study found.

At least five years would be needed for scoping and environmental reviews and approvals if Cuomo decides to move forward. After that, at least 1 1/2 years would be needed for the design phase.

From there, a crossing could open approximately eight years after the start of construction, according to the study.

Jon Campbell is a correspondent for the USA TODAY Network's Albany Bureau.