BRIDGE-NY funding awarded for local projects: After years of effort, O’Mara and Palmesano say state taking important steps to better support local roads and bridges

Elmira, N.Y., January 18—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I- Big Flats) and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) applauded today’s announcement that numerous local bridge improvement projects in Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Tompkins and Yates counties are being awarded state aid through New York’s first round of BRIDGE-NY funding.

O’Mara and Palmesano played an instrumental role in creating the new BRIDGE-NY program as part of last year’s state budget.  The application process began last year for distributing the aid to help localities across the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, and statewide, undertake bridge and culvert rehabilitation and replacement projects.

In a joint statement, O’Mara and Palmesano said, “BRIDGE-NY is an important addition to the increased state support for local transportation infrastructure that we established in the current state budget.  We’re taking important steps to establish stronger state support for local roads, bridges and culverts in critical need of rehabilitation and replacement.  The state’s recognition over the past several years of the importance of local transportation infrastructure and parity in statewide transportation funding will continue making a significant difference for our local governments, local economies, local property taxpayers and motorist safety locally and statewide.  We will continue working with Governor Cuomo, our legislative colleagues and local highway superintendents and leaders across this region and state on this vitally important challenge and priority. Every additional dollar of state support means a dollar less that our local property taxpayers have to pay.  We need to keep making these investments in economic growth and job creation throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions, and all across New York.”

O’Mara and Palmesano said that the following regional projects have been awarded funding under the first round of BRIDGE-NY funding announced in Albany today:

> $2.280 million to the city of Elmira (Chemung County) for Madison Avenue over the Chemung River;

> $3.325 million to the city of Elmira (Chemung County) for Walnut Street over the Chemung River;

> $1.030 million to the town of Big Flats (Chemung County) for Daniel Zenker Drive over Owens Hollow Creek;

> $1.043 million to Chemung County for Chambers Road (County Route 35) over Madison Creek;

> $1.031 million to Chemung County for Chambers Road (County Route 35) over Madison Creek;

> $1.815 million to Schuyler County for Mill Street over Chequaga Falls;

> $1.244 million to the city of Hornell (Steuben County) for Seneca Street over Canacadea Creek;

> $1.663 million to the city of Corning (Steuben County) for Bridge Street over Chemung River;

> $4.275 million to Steuben County Department of Public Works for County Road 22 over Canisteo River;

> $1.891 million to the city of Hornell (Steuben County) for East Main Street over Chauncy Run;

> $1.178 million to the city of Ithaca (Tompkins County) for North Aurora Street over Cascadilla Creek;

> $2.683 million to the town of Dryden (Tompkins County) for Freese Road over Fall Creek;

> $963,000 to the town of Dryden (Tompkins County) for South George Road over Virgil Creek; and

> $395,000 to Yates County for Loomis Road over West River.

BRIDGE-NY funding is available to all municipalities authorized to receive and administer state and federal transportation funding. A competitive process is being utilized to distribute the awards, which will support all phases of project development including design, right-of-way and construction. Evaluations will be based on the resiliency of the structure, the current bridge and culvert structural conditions, and the significance and importance of the bridge based on traffic volumes, detour considerations, the number and types of businesses served and the overall impact on commerce.

O’Mara and Palmesano have collaborated with local highway superintendents and other local officials from throughout New York over the past several years to lead the fight in the Legislature for fairer and stronger state support for local transportation infrastructure, including bridges and culverts.  The “Local Roads Matter” campaign has been a growing bipartisan effort since 2013.  In 2016, they organized a bipartisan group of 130 senators and members of the Assembly, more than 60% of the entire Legislature, who joined county and town highway superintendents and other local leaders from throughout the state to call for increased support for local roads, bridges and culverts.

As a result, regional counties, cities, towns and villages have received significant increases in state funding for local roads through the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) and the newly established BRIDGE-NY and PAVE-NY programs. 

CHIPS funding, for example, has increased by $125 million since 2013. 

The 2016-17 budget provides $438 million in direct funding for CHIPS with an additional $400 million ($100 million a year over four years) of funding for local roads being allocated through the CHIPS funding formula through PAVE-NY.  Another $400 million from BRIDGE- NY will also be allocated statewide with local input.

They added that for the first time since 2010 there is parity in funding between the five-year state Department of Transportation (DOT) and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) capital plans, with each plan slated to receive approximately $27 billion.

Local roads and bridges account for 87% of the roads, 52% of the bridges, and 48% of the vehicle mileage logged in New York State.

[See today's full announcements for the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes]