Joseph Spector is reporting at lohud.com Bill Finch, the former mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has been chosen to head the state Thruway Authority. The agency's board voted Mon., Jun. 13, to select Finch to head the authority that oversees the 570-mile highway, the Tappan Zee Bridge and its replacement, which is set to open in 2018. Finch will serve as interim director until his appointment is approved by the state Senate. The Senate's confirmation could come before the legislative session ends Thursday. "I couldn’t be more excited to be here and do whatever I can to help," Finch said at the Thruway meeting. Finch takes over a Thruway Authority that faces financial uncertainty as it builds a $3.9 billion replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge in the Hudson Valley and deals with growing costs for upkeep of the thoroughfare that stretches across New York. The authority is also leading the environmental review of the controversial Pilgrim Pipeline project. That pipeline would travel 178 miles from the port of Albany to New Jersey, running along the thruway for 90 miles. The pipeline would carry Bakkan crude oil to New Jersey, and refined material back to Albany. Read the full story at lohud.com.