Editing Goethals Bridge (section)

== Planning for a new bridge ==
Starting in 1985, the Port Authority looked at 27 different alternatives to add capacity between Staten Island and New Jersey. By 1990, senior executives decided that the best way to accommodate growth was to build a new span, parallel to the existing Goethals Bridge. In October 1997, the Port Authority issued a final [[environmental impact statement]], but by that time Staten Island officials had lined up against the project, citing the potential for increased traffic through their borough.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Plotch |first=Philip |title=Mobilizing the Metropolis: How the Port Authority Built New York |publisher=University of Michigan Press |year=2023 |isbn=978-0472056132 |pages=194–201}}</ref>

A Port Authority study initiated in 2001 suggested that the optimal solution was an entirely new span.<ref name=":1" /> The choosing of a full replacement option was followed by the submittal of several design alternatives, alongside a "no build" option. The new bridge design, upon the completion of the westbound span, also included additional lanes of traffic, high-speed [[E-ZPass]] lanes, and a reconstruction and widening of [[Interstate 278]] from exit 4 in [[New York (state)|New York]] ([[New York State Route 440|NY 440]] south) to [[New Jersey Route 439|Route&nbsp;439]] in New Jersey. The span was demolished starting in January 2018, after the opening of the replacement bridges.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abc7ny.com/traffic/watch-time-lapse-video-shows-dismantling-of-local-bridge/2971545/ |title=Time-lapse video shows dismantling of local bridge |date=January 20, 2018 |publisher=[[WABC-TV]] |access-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-date=June 13, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613040821/https://abc7ny.com/traffic/watch-time-lapse-video-shows-dismantling-of-local-bridge/2971545/ |url-status=live }}</ref>