AGC/NYSDOT Tech Conference Held

ALBANY, NY (12/10/2007)(readMedia)-- The Associated General Contractors, New York State Chapter: (AGC) announced a significant trade and technical conference held for the New York bridge and highway construction community with all relevant New York State agencies who serve public infrastructure needs.

The Associated General Contractors, New York State Chapter, Inc. (AGC) and the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) held the 21st annual AGC / DOT Technical Conference at the Saratoga Hotel in Saratoga Springs. Over eleven hundred people attended the three-day event focusing on the technical and safety aspects of highway construction, an area of enhanced concern and scrutiny in view of the tragic Minnesota Bridge collapse this year.

The Conference had two exceptional keynote speakers: NYSDOT Commissioner Astrid C. Glynn, who delivered an important address concerning the state of disrepair and critical funding needs that New York State faces in highway, bridge and mass transit construction over the next 20 years and Colonel Jeffrey A. Bedey, who is directing the United States Army Corp of Engineers as Commander of the Hurricane Protection Office in New Orleans , La. , who delivered a detailed presentation on how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reconstructing the flood protection system of New Orleans following the catastrophic Hurricane Katrina.

Commissioner Astrid Glynn delivered what AGC CEO and President AJ Castelbuono called the “finest address the Technical Conference has ever received”, during his tenure over 23 years at the helm of AGC. He described it as “a strong, clear and direct call to action to invest the needed resources to maintain New York’s roads and bridges.” The Commissioner told the attendees that more than $175 billion is needed to continue to maintain New York State’s highway, bridges and public transit at a “minimally necessary” level of commitment to keep the public safe, and our economy moving forward over the next 20 years. Her address to the AGC was a strong message to the contractors who will build and repair the bridges in New York State that she and her agency understand the magnitude of the infrastructure problem and understand what it will take to remedy the situation. The Associated General Contractors, New York State Chapter, Inc. (AGC) is the leading voice of the heavy highway and bridge construction industry, representing contractors and related companies dedicated to the ideals of skill, integrity and responsibility.

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