Washington - U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) is hailing a plan announced today by the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey to raise the Bayonne Bridge roadway and allow larger cargo ships to reach port terminals in Northern New Jersey. Menendez has been a leading champion of the port and the project since the days when he represented the area in the House of Representatives.

Work to widen the Panama Canal will be complete in 2014, and the current 151 feet clearance under the bridge is insufficient to accommodate the larger cargo ships that will use the canal. The preferred plan announced today will raise the clearance under the roadway to 215 feet. If the bridge is not raised, port terminals in Newark and Elizabeth will be at a competitive disadvantage relative to other East Coast ports.

"This is absolutely crucial to ensuring that newer, larger ships can access our ports and that one of our state's primary economic engines remains competitive in the 21st Century," said Menendez. "When our ports thrive, local jobs are created, economic activity is generated and our state prospers. I have championed this project and the port since my days representing the area in the House and I will work on the federal level to help ensure its swift completion."

The Bayonne Bridge has connected Bayonne and Staten Island, New York for almost 70 years.

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