Groups Advocate for Funding of Local Roads and Bridges

New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways (NYSAOTSOH) and the New York State County Highway Superintendents Association (NYSCHSA)

The New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, Inc. (NYSAOTSOH) and the New York State County Highway Superintendents Association (NYSCHSA) are expecting about 600 highway superintendents and other highway professionals to discuss funding needs with lawmakers. Both groups remain concerned about the Two-Year Capital Plan which continues to underfund local road and bridge needs by about $1.2 billion per year. CHIPs and Marchiselli, the two main programs that help fund the majority of local projects, is funded at a level far below what is recommended by the NYSDOT to simply maintain core efforts. Predictably, this is resulting in an increased rate of deterioration of our local transportation system, making it much more difficult to reverse this trend in the years to come.

Additionally, when the Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund (DHBTF) was established, it did not adequately account for inflation growth and material, equipment and machinery cost increases over the years. The fund’s financing structure also did not anticipate the rising cost of motor fuels and the adoption of aggressive Federal and State policies designed to reduce gasoline consumption, which puts negative pressure on DHBTF purchasing power and revenues.

Problems for local bridges are particularly troublesome. According to an audit issued by the New York State Comptroller in January 2010, local bridges were more than twice as likely as State bridges to be “red-flagged” for serious structural defects.

Information about the event and legislative materials may be downloaded from the NYSAOTSOH web site at www.nystownhwys.org or the NYSCHSA web site at www.countyhwys.org.