New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered the builder of a bridge named after his late father incentives to complete it before Thursday's gubernatorial primary, but the project was delayed after engineers warned of a "potentially dangerous situation" on a neighboring bridge that could affect the new structure, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
Citing an "internal document" outlining the terms for building the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge to connect two suburban counties, the Times disclosed that the structure was to be completed on Aug. 24.
To meet the deadline, Cuomo administration officials offered to absorb extra costs and to reduce liability to the contractor, Tappan Zee Constructors, for any potential traffic accidents in the process.
The eastbound span of the bridge was to open Saturday, and Cuomo held an "elaborate" ceremony the day before that included a "laudatory speech by Hillary Clinton," according to the Times.
It was now expected to open Tuesday — and complications with the old, neighboring Tappan Zee Bridge threatened to affect traffic on the new Cuomo Bridge span, engineers warned.
Cuomo has touted the bridge as one of many infrastructure achievements in the run-up to Thursday's Democratic primary against actress Cynthia Nixon.
But Nixon and Cuomo's other opponents slammed the governor for pushing the bridge's early completion for political gain.
"The bridge was opened to meet Governor Cuomo’s political timetable without regard to public safety," said Republican candidate Marcus Molinaro, who has called for a federal investigation, the Times reports.
Cuomo denied any role in the bridge's scheduling, telling a Sunday news conference: "We didn’t make the decision on the opening of the new span. The contractor did."
The new Cuomo Bridge connects Rockland and Westchester counties over the Hudson River.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.