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Westbound traffic is switching to the new Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge linking suburban Westchester and Rockland counties along the New York State Thruway north of New York City.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo, son of the bridge’s namesake, says four lanes of Rockland-bound traffic will start crossing the first span of the bridge late Friday night into Saturday morning. The second span is slated to open next year.

The Democratic governor introduced a new $4 billion bridge Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The project launched by the Thruway Authority in 2013 will replace the 62-year-old Tappan Zee Bridge, a critical link in the Northeast U.S. highway system.

The Tappan Zee had served as the poster child for crumbling infrastructure. President Barack Obama used it as a backdrop in 2014 when he asked Congress for more infrastructure funding.

(AP)