MID-HUDSON – Should the state approve a merger of the New York State Bridge Authority into the Thruway Authority, the agency that operates the five Hudson River crossings in the region, would not be used to subsidize operations of the larger agency. That assurance comes from Matthew Driscoll, the executive director of the Thruway Authority.
Driscoll said a merger would streamline operations and eliminate duplicative processes. “Under this proposal, the Bridge Authority would not be subsidizing the Thruway Authority or any of our tolling facilities in any way shape or form,” he told Mid-Hudson News. “This is really an opportunity to streamline government services by bringing two organizations, who have overlapping roles and responsibilities and we pretty much do the same thing.”
Driscoll said while the two authorities would merge operationally, their revenues and how it is used, will, and must be, invested to support their operations and capital programs.
Also on Tuesday, four Mid-Hudson Valley State Assembly members sent a letter to Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders telling them that assumption of the Bridge Authority “would drastically and detrimentally affect both the economy and the overall quality of life in the region.”
The letter was signed by Assembly Members Jonathan Jacobson, Didi Barrett, Kevin Cahill, Sandy Galef, and Aileen Gunther.
