DiNapoli: “Dedicated Infrastructure Investment Fund”
NEW WINDSOR – State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli outlined the current infrastructural challenges facing New York and his suggestions on possible solutions at Monday’s Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress conference in New Windsor.
DiNapoli said if the economy is to grow with new jobs and businesses,
“we need an infrastructure that’s up to the challenge.”
He told the public officials in attendance that “Very
simply put, right now, too much of our state’s infrastructure is
deteriorating.”
According to his September 2014 report, U.S. DOT data show that one-third of New York’s highways and bridges are structurally deficient or obsolete and that number is expected to increase significantly over the next 10 years. State Environmental Conservation Department data shows a majority of New York’s wastewater facilities are operating well past their life expectancies and natural disasters like Sandy, paired with the unusually harsh past winter, has created even more infrastructural insufficiencies which usually are not taken into accounts for budgets at the local level. This, paired with increasing prices of asphalt and fuel, has put a strain on departments at the municipal level especially, he said.
The comptroller has suggested some changes that may hopefully benefit these situations such as DOT, DEC and DPW providing updated reports on infrastructure, planning further in the future for contingencies before they reach emergency status, specifically 20 year plans, getting the fed, state and municipalities to work together to share resources for infrastructural projects and investigating through reports, paired with comprehensive analysis, to evaluate the possible benefits of using P3s (Public Private Partnerships).
Looking forward, the Dedicated Infrastructure Investment Fund for the 2014-2015 year, will provide a large amount of funding for infrastructure improvements.
“The enacted budget makes some of these funds available for infrastructure projects certainly, most significantly, including the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement,” said DiNapoli. “The new budget created what’s called a Dedicated Infrastructure Investment Fund and authorized up to $4.5 billion, of that money, to be transferred to the new fund.”
DiNapoli said that New York has had a good budget this year and things are beginning to look up for the state but, there is still much work to be done.
Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY18) said government must look at a long-term approach to funding infrastructure needs.
