Governor Kathy Hochul announced the award of more than $516 million in enhanced assistance for 141 local governments to rehabilitate and replace bridges and culverts while supporting resiliency and sustainability in every region of the state. This funding, provided through the State’s BRIDGE NY initiative, is aimed at helping local governments across the state harden their existing infrastructure while boosting the resiliency of bridges and culverts in the state. The State’s BRIDGE NY initiative supports projects that combat climate change by reducing the risk of flooding, improving the resiliency of structures, facilitating regional economic competitiveness and prioritizing projects that benefit environmental justice communities.
“New York State is making historic investments to modernize our infrastructure and we are committed to working with our partners in local government to help ensure that their bridges and culverts are ready to meet the challenges of global climate change,” Governor Hochul said. “The BRIDGE NY program provides essential funding directly to local governments to enhance the safety, resiliency, sustainability and reliability of local infrastructure, allowing more than 140 bridges to better withstand extreme weather events and keep New Yorkers safe.”
The announcement builds upon the more than $716 million that has previously been awarded to local governments under the BRIDGE NY initiative. As part of the State’s historic, $32.8 billion capital plan adopted last year, $1 billion was committed to BRIDGE NY, effectively doubling the size of the program. The awards announced now were selected based on input from Regional and Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the funding will support all phases of project delivery, including design, right-of-way acquisition and construction.
New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “New York’s infrastructure, especially at the local level, is among the oldest in the country, which makes investments like BRIDGE NY that harden our local infrastructure and invest in resiliency and sustainability so critically important to the Empire State’s future. The safety and reliability of our transportation infrastructure is vital to the health and economic well-being of our local communities and no state is doing more to support them than New York under Governor Hochul’s leadership. The BRIDGE NY funding we are announcing today will provide critically important financial support to local governments to help make our infrastructure more sustainable and our communities stronger.”
