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Original 1955 Tappan Zee bridge was a victim of the Korean War. It was minimized since sufficient money was no longer available due to that war. It had long carried a load well beyond what it was originally designed to support.
This is very unusual in the US today. We don't build major construction projects any more. Even the George Washington Bridge, built in 1930, is that old. A nonsensical worry about costs dominates rather than productivity (ie a rail tunnel from NJ to NYC's Penn Station that is desperately needed). But NY State had no choice. It had to replace the Tappan Zee. It is a major Interstate highway.
No viable alternative exists across this Hudson river. A small Bear Mountain bridge (built 1924) is 22 miles north. Or an Interstate Highway bridge is 38 miles north. George Washington Bridge is 22 miles south. And takes much longer due to overburdened taffic jams (and a NJ Governor). Tapan Zee must carry heavy interstate traffic on InterState 287 - a major connection between New England and the rest of the continental US. So cost cutting (destroy America) politicians (ie NJ's Governor Christie is a classic example) could not block this construction.
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