On Wednesday, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state would invest $483 million to rehabilitate and replace bridges and culverts across the state.
The latest installment of New York’s BRIDGE NY initiative, the funding will allow the New York Department of Transportation to work with local planning organizations to allocate fund to towns, villages and other governmental entities throughout the state. Funding will be used to harden existing bridge and culvert infrastructure and to improve their resiliency against severe weather events. The state’s BRIDGE NY program will help communities reduce the risk of flooding, improve the resiliency of structures, facilitate economic competitiveness and benefit environmental justice communities, Hochul’s office said.
“New York is already feeling the effects of climate change with ever-more frequent severe weather events that just this year have washed out several key bridges and roadways in our state,” Hochul said. “The investments we are making through the ‘BRIDGE NY’ program will help local governments enhance the safety, resiliency, sustainability, and reliability of their infrastructure, increasing the ability of our bridges to withstand extreme weather events and keep New Yorkers on the move.”
The funding joins another $1.2 billion already provided to local governments under the program. Last year’s $32.8 billion capital plan included an additional $1 billion for BRIDGE NY, effectively doubling the program’s size. The New York DOT said the latest round of investments will be made in the coming months as the department works through the local planning process with Regional and Metropolitan Planning Organizations.