Go East, Young Man

For a few weeks, there has been a crane tower off the eastbound side of the Kosciuszko Bridge. Could the long-awaited replacement project be underway? Seems possible. In May, Governor Cuomo announced that the design-build team had been selected for the $555M project and that work would begin this (past) summer. The DOT's website provides this somewhat terrifying projection of what travel across the new span will look like:

(Courtesy NYS DOT)

According to a DOT newsletter, Phase I, which includes construction of the eastbound span and removal of the existing bridge, is due to wrap up in the last quarter of 2017. Phase II, construction of the new westbound structure, is not due to be completed until 2018. Which begs the question, if only the eastbound lanes are constructed and the old bridge is gone, how will anybody travel west?