N.Y.-N.J. port seeks bridge replacement bids

N.Y.-N.J. port seeks bridge replacement bids    The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has published the request for qualifications for companies to bid on the right to design, build, finance and maintain a replacement for the Goethals Bridge.
   The bridge, which originally opened in 1928, connects Staten Island to New Jersey. It is heavily used by trucks moving between New Jersey, Staten Island and Long Island, including trucks draying cargo to and from New York Container Terminal, located on Staten Island just north of the bridge.
   The port authority said the minimum navigation clearance for the new Goethals bridge would be 137.9 feet measured above mean high water. That’s lower than the air draft beneath the nearby Bayonne Bridge that varies with the tide between 151 and 156 feet. The port authority is also seeking to replace or raise the Bayonne Bridge so large containerships can pass beneath it.
   There are no container terminals south of the Goethals Bridge, though there are some bulk chemical and petroleum terminals along the Arthur Kill, which the bridge spans.