The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has approved a $1.6-billion loan for the replacement of New York's Tappan Zee Bridge. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) made the announcement Oct. 31, calling it "the largest loan the U.S. Dept. of Transportation has ever made for any project like this."

The loan was made through the DOT's Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program. Established in 1998, TIFIA has ramped up its lending recently, spurred by last year's Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). The DOT also began taking steps earlier this year to speed up the TIFIA loan approval process.