Huge backups on the Tappan Zee Bridge caused by emergency repairs this week have some motorists wondering about the bridge's future.

Metal plates have been placed over an almost 4-foot opening on the bridge that led straight to the water. The hole was the biggest one ever reported on the Tappan Zee.

"I'm afraid to go over the bridge," says Julie Elmowsky, of Suffern. "Sometimes I think that bridge is going to fall through."

Members of the Tappan Zee Bridge corridor project are continuing to finalize plans on whether to rehab or replace the structure. However, there may not be money available to revamp it.

Rockland County Executive Scott Vanderhoef believes a private partnership would alleviate funding problems.

"The county understands, perhaps better than anyone, the long-term solutions to these things is not filling potholes for the rest of our lives but figuring out how we're going to fund theses things going forward," he says.