A group of bipartisan lawmakers in New York have called for increased state support for local roads, bridges and culverts after the COVID-19 pandemic prevented municipal public workers from lobbying for help.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal earmarks $438 million for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) for the ninth-straight year. However, $65 million for extreme winter recovery is on the chopping block.
Local transportation leaders are pushing forward with their annual campaign for more money. This year, their campaign is known as “Local Roads Are Essential,” focusing on greater state investment in local transportation infrastructure during the pandemic. They called the infrastructure important to help communities safely travel and restore commerce.
“We’re urging all state lawmakers to support increasing CHIPS funding to ensure we continue to have safe and well maintained local roads and bridges,” said Alex Gregor, president of the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways and outgoing town highway superintendent in Southampton.
The group sent a letter to Cuomo this week to request that he restore the $65 million for repairs related to winter storms to his budget proposal.
They also want the extreme winter fund to be increased to $100 million, if the state receives at least $6 billion in the next federal coronavirus relief package. Additional federal funding above $6 billion should be reallocated to break the state’s nearly decade-long steady funding for state transportation infrastructure, they said.
"As a member of Local 138 Operating Engineers, the CHIPS money is really important and getting the men and women back to work and getting the roads repaired after this rough winter that we've had and making it safe for kids to travel to school and for our travelers that are now out and about going to and from work,” said freshman Republican Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio from Long Island’s North Fork, who was previously a truck driver. “If it's also putting money back into the economy, it's very important that it's fully funded.”
Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said this funding is still a “critical issue” for New York towns and counties to make sure local budgets include infrastructure repairs for transportation.
A 2017 report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that locally owned bridges need at least $27.4 billion in repairs and 40% of local roads are in fair or poor condition, and getting worse.