Assembly Bill A5024

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5024
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Transportation
 
 AN  ACT directing the Department of Transportation to conduct a study of
   certain bridges spanning bodies of water connected to deep water ports
   in the state to determine whether such  bridges  have  the  structural
   integrity  to  withstand  an impact from a large vessel; and providing
   for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Legislative intent and findings.  1. On March 26, 2024, the
 commercial  container  ship,  the  "Dali", lost power and slammed into a
 support piling of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in  Baltimore,  resulting
 in  the  immediate  and near-total collapse of the bridge.  The Dali was
 984 feet long and weighed approximately 95,000 tons.  As a result of the
 collision and collapse, trade through the Port  of  Baltimore  has  been
 severely  compromised  and  will remain so for some time.  The estimated
 cost to repair the bridge will be $4,000,000,000.  The repairs are esti-
 mated to take several years.
   In addition to being a part of a sea passage for  trade,  the  Francis
 Scott  Key  Bridge was also a major part of the Baltimore transportation
 system for commercial, commuter and personal travel.   Until the  bridge
 repairs  are  completed,  a  key part of the Baltimore infrastructure is
 closed not only to sea-going traffic, but also to vehicular traffic,  as
 well.   The current and future financial impacts on Baltimore, its resi-
 dents and the state of Maryland are profound.
   2. Less than two weeks after the Baltimore incident,  the  89,000-ton,
 1,100-foot-long  vessel  "APL Qingdao" lost propulsion near the Verraza-
 no-Narrows Bridge. Fortunately,  there  was  no  collision  between  the
 vessel and the bridge.
   3. While these ships seem to be extremely large, Allan Post, the depu-
 ty superintendent at Texas A&M University's Maritime Academy states that

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03164-01-5
              

 A. 5024                             2
 
 1,000  foot  ships  are  now the standard size.  In contrast, the Summit
 Venture, a cargo vessel that caused the 1980 collapse  of  the  Sunshine
 Skyway in Florida, was 600 feet long and weighed 35,000 tons.
   4. These recent incidents raise concerns about the condition of bridg-
 es  spanning waterways involved in seagoing commercial transportation in
 our state and the ability of such structures to withstand an impact from
 such a large vessel.  In most cases, New York bridges were designed  and
 built  long  before the advent of the enormous commercial vessels common
 now and most would likely not be able to sustain a direct collision with
 such a vessel.  The occurrence of such an accident would have  a  devas-
 tating  impact  on  our  state and local economies and, depending on the
 bridge involved, our local transportation.   In addition, there  is  the
 potential for enormous loss of life when a bridge collapses.
   5.  In view of these considerations, the legislature declares it to be
 in the best interest of the state and its people to proactively  conduct
 a  study  of  bridges  spanning  bodies of water connected to deep water
 ports in the state to determine whether such bridges have the structural
 integrity to withstand an impact from a large vessel.
   § 2. 1. The Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the  New
 York  State Bridge Authority, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority,
 the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the Buffalo and  Fort
 Erie  Public  Bridge  Authority, as applicable, shall conduct a study to
 determine the ability of certain bridges in the state  to  withstand  an
 impact  to  the  support  structures  of  the  bridges from large ships,
 including but not limited to, cargo vessels, oil tankers  and  passenger
 ships.    Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  study, the Commissioner of the
 Department of Transportation  ("the  Commissioner")  shall  prepare  and
 issue  a  comprehensive report of the study findings and recommendations
 for improvements to each bridge, if any.
   2. Bridges to be evaluated for the study shall include the following:
   a. the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge;
   b. the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge;
   c. the Henry Hudson Bridge;
   d. the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge;
   e. the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge;
   f. the Throgs Neck Bridge;
   g. the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge;
   h. the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge;
   i. the Bear Mountain Bridge;
   j. the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge;
   k. the Mid-Hudson Bridge;
   l. the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge;
   m. the Rip Van Winkle Bridge;
   n. the George Washington Bridge;
   o. the Bayonne Bridge;
   p. the Goethals Bridge;
   q. the Outerbridge Crossing Bridge;
   r. the Alfred H. Smith Memorial Bridge;
   s. the Castleton Bridge;
   t. the Dunn Memorial Bridge;
   u. the Patroon Island Bridge;
   v. the Peace Bridge;
   w. the Walkway over the Hudson Pedestrian Bridge;
   x. any bridge under the control of a New York entity spanning a  water
 shipping route through Lake Erie or Lake Ontario utilized by large cargo
 A. 5024                             3
 
 vessels  or  oil  tankers  to  access  commercial  shipping ports in the
 Niagara or Rochester areas of the state; and
   y. any other bridge the Commissioner deems necessary.
   3.  For  each bridge, the study shall include, at a minimum, an evalu-
 ation of the following:
   a. the age of the bridge;
   b. the amount of traffic traveling on top of and  through  the  waters
 below the bridge;
   c. the current condition of the bridge;
   d.  any  known  or  newly discovered chronic issue or problem with the
 bridge;
   e. the type, size, and construction of the support structures  of  the
 bridge;
   f.  the  type,  size  and construction of any barriers surrounding the
 base of the support structures of the bridge and  the  distance  between
 such surrounding structures and the water channels occupied by vessels;
   g. the width between the support structures of the bridge;
   h. the height of the bridge;
   i.  the  topography  near  the  bridge, including sand bars, shallows,
 cliffs, etc.;
   j. the area a vessel may safely access during a maneuver to avoid  the
 bridge in the event of a loss of power or propulsion or other emergency;
 and
   k. any other matters the Commissioner deems necessary.
   §  3. The report required by this act shall be submitted to the gover-
 nor, the speaker of the assembly, and the  temporary  president  of  the
 senate  no  later  than  January 1, 2026.   The report shall include the
 findings, conclusions and recommendations of  the  Commissioner  of  the
 Department  of  Transportation and other involved entities.  The Commis-
 sioner shall submit with this report such legislative proposals  as  the
 Commissioner  deems  necessary  to  implement  such recommendations. The
 report shall also be published on  the  website  of  the  Department  of
 Transportation no later than one month after it is completed.
   § 4. The Commissioner of the Department of Transportation may request,
 and  is  authorized  to receive, any information from any state agencies
 that is relevant and material  to  the  completion  of  this  study  and
 report.   Such information received by the Commissioner shall be subject
 to the same requirements for confidentiality and limitations on use,  if
 any,  as  are applicable to such state agency's use of such information.
 In addition to the entities listed in subdivision one of section two  of
 this  act, the Commissioner may consult with any additional entities the
 Commissioner deems necessary.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
 deemed repealed April 1, 2027 or 3 months after the report is submitted,
 whichever is later.