S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7804
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               June 15, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  ZEBROWSKI  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Transportation
 
 AN ACT in relation to the repair of certain bridges and other structures
   located on or adjacent to the Palisades Interstate Parkway
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Legislative findings and intent. 1. The Legislature finds
 that:
   a. The Palisades Interstate Parkway (the  "Parkway")  is  an  historic
 parkway  listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is owned
 by the Palisades Interstate Parkway Commission.
   b. During the summer of 2011, the New York State Department of  Trans-
 portation,  the  New  York State Office of Historic Preservation and The
 Palisades Interstate Park Commission (the "Commission") entered  into  a
 Memorandum of Understanding (the "Memorandum") regarding the implementa-
 tion  of projects affecting the Palisades Interstate Parkway.  The Memo-
 randum acknowledges that the Department of Transportation is responsible
 for the design and construction of capital  improvement  projects  along
 the Parkway and the maintenance of the Parkway and its associated corri-
 dor.
   c. Pursuant to the memorandum, treatment for new and existing bridges,
 including  retaining  walls  and  culverts, shall be designed with stone
 that is either the same as or compatible with existing stone utilized in
 projects along the Parkway. Stone Masonry  Notes  are  attached  to  the
 Memorandum.
   2.  During or about 2016, the New York State Department of Transporta-
 tion identified a number of bridges and/or  structures  on  the  Parkway
 requiring  repairs.  Despite having adequate funding for these projects,
 the New York State Department  of  Transportation  has  been  unable  to
 proceed  with  them  as  approval for the projects has not been received
 from the Commission. The reason cited for the delay was that  historical

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11517-01-3
              

 A. 7804                             2
 
 rock  matching  that  on the bridges, or a substantially similar substi-
 tute, was not available.
   3.  According  to  the American Road & Transportation Builders Associ-
 ation (ARTBA) analysis of the U.S. Department of  Transportation's  2019
 National  Bridge Inventory (NBI) database, 230,000 bridges in the United
 States require repair. That figure represents 37 percent, or more than a
 third, of all U.S. bridges. New York  state  was  found  to  have  1,745
 structurally  deficient  bridges, ranking New York among the states with
 the largest number of structurally deficient bridges in the country.
   4. DOT Project I.D. No. 8813.75 relating  to  the  repair  of  bridges
 located  along the Palisades Interstate Parkway is scheduled to open for
 bidding in the Spring of 2024.
   5. The legislature finds that any further delay in the repair  of  the
 bridges  along  the  Palisades  Interstate  Parkway  and of the adjacent
 structures presents a danger to the public and is against the  interests
 of the people of the state.
   §  2.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  the  Memorandum,  or  any
 provision of law to the  contrary,  the  Commission  shall  approve  DOT
 Project  I.D.   No.  8813.75 and shall notify the New York State Depart-
 ment of Transportation no later than December 1, 2023  of  a  choice  of
 available  stone  that  is  acceptable  to the Commission for use in the
 repair of the bridges to be repaired pursuant to DOT  Project  I.D.  No.
 8813.75.  If  the  Commission  fails to do so, the Commission's approval
 shall be deemed to have been given and the New York State Department  of
 Transportation  shall  be  entitled to select stone matching that on the
 bridges, or a substantially similar substitute, to be utilized  for  the
 purposes of DOT Project I.D. No. 8813.75.
   §  3.  The  provisions of this act shall apply only to bridges located
 within the state of New York.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.