STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.-- Hours before the Monday dawn, Francis Cardamone was already parked, waiting, at the Bayonne Bridge. He was a man on a mission.

"I really wanted to be the first one over the bridge," said Cardamone, a Port Richmond resident who arrived at 3 a.m. and was the first driver to travel the Bayonne Bridge's newly elevated roadway. "It was thrilling."

This isn't Cardamone's first time making bridge-related history. He fondly remembers at the age of 20 waiting several hours with his brother Lawrence to be the first to travel over the lower level of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge when it opened.

Having grown up in Port Richmond, Cardamone says there was no way he was going to miss Monday's opportunity, since he feels a particularly special connection to the 85-year-old arch bridge that spans from Staten Island to Bayonne, N.J.

"For me it was a matter of civic pride...the bridge has been a part of my existence growing up," he said, remembering his days at Port Richmond High School where he was just a "stone's throw" from the bridge. In fact, his track team would sometimes run across the bridge during practice.

For his efforts, Cardamone was given a framed rendering of what the new Bayonne Bridge will look like when completed.

Cardamone said he's watched the bridge's construction from the start of the "Raise the Roadway" initiative, back in 2013. The project marks the first time engineers are building a bridge roadway above the original span, while the lower road remains open to traffic.

The opening of the new elevated roadway coincided with the launch of the bridge's cashless tolling system.

NEW ELEVATED ROADWAY

The new roadway is 215 feet above the Kill van Kull and 64 feet above the original bridge deck.

All traffic crossing Route 440 between Bayonne and Staten Island are directed by signs to the bridge's new approach roadways and over the elevated span.

The new Bayonne Bridge roadway will continue to accommodate one lane of traffic in each direction while construction is ongoing.

"I've taken pictures of the construction as it's progressed...all along during this process I've marveled at the engineering feat that was taking place before our eye," said Cardamone, who has memorabilia from when the Bayonne Bridge opened on Nov. 15, 1931.

The project has been no easy task, particularly since the Port Authority has wanted to maintain the integrity of Othmar Ammann's original historic design.

"You think about what we did here. Othmar Ammann--this was one of his prized possessions," said Steven Plate, chief of major capital programs for the Port Authority. "We were able to rebuild it. The analogy I like to use is it's like being commissioned to restore the Sistine Chapel. To an engineer, this is his (Ammann's) Sistine Chapel. It truly is a very special structure and a piece of art."

Cardamone, a history buff who has a significant knowledge of local landmarks, couldn't agree more.

"I really feel this is a testament to the engineering genius of the initial bridge's engineer Othmar Ammann...and the engineers who developed this new construction. And it's a testament to the skill of the people who did the construction," he said. "It's an amazing piece of work."

ECONOMIC BOOST

The Panama Canal has doubled its capacity to allow for the new, larger ships to pass through. For these ships to access the ports of New York and New Jersey, the Bayonne Bridge had to be raised to accommodate the new ships' heights.

The $1.29 billion project will have a positive impact on the economy, Plate said.

"It's tremendous for the economy. Some of the numbers are staggering," Plate said. "These ports generate upwards of over $50 billion dollars in impact to the economy...and that's per year."

AHEAD OF THE GAME

The project is ahead of schedule thanks, in part, to good weather. Navigational clearance for the neo Panamax vessels is expected to be achieved later this year.

"We're actually doing better than we planned," said Plate. "People have asked are we going to make end of 2017 and we're very confident we're going to make the end of 2017. In fact we've been pressed by both governors and the leadership of the Port Authority to do even better. We're really excited about it.

Plate said that the remarkably good weather this winter has helped but is not the sole reason the project has moved forward.

"We had a great winter but I won't attribute it to the winter, it's really been a lot of great people--the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the contractors, the men and women of the unions who work here every day...just continue to persevere," Plate said.

By the time the "Raise the Roadway" project is complete in 2019, the new roadway will have opened at its full width, with four 12-foot lanes plus inner and outer shoulders, a median barrier and a 10-foot shared-used path for cyclists and pedestrians.

HOURS OF OPERATION

The Port Authority says they will significantly reduce the frequency of the weekday daytime (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.) closures, except when occasionally needed for construction, according to spokesman Neal Buccino.

The overnight Monday to Thursday closures will continue for the time being, according to Buccino.

"We also expect less frequent weekend closures," Buccino said.