1,702 bridges
White House grades state infrastructure as a C minus ahead of $2T plan.
The White House graded New York’s infrastructure as a C minus on a report card it issued to help make the case for President Joe Biden’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan.
A release from the White House identified 1,702 bridges and more than 7,292 miles of highway in poor condition in New York. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.4 percent in the state, it noted, adding that on average each driver pays $625 per year in costs due to driving on crumbling roads.
Most states received a C or C minus on the report cards that examined the conditions of their roads and bridges, public transportation, resilient infrastructure, drinking water, housing, broadband, care giving, child care, manufacturing, home energy, clean energy jobs and veterans health facilities.
The report card also highlighted that New York’s drinking water infrastructure will require $22.8 billion in additional funding over the next 20 years, and one in three New Yorkers live in areas where there is only one broadband internet provider providing minimally acceptable speeds.
The American Jobs Plan — Biden’s massive infrastructure package that could fund these projects — is just starting to move its way through Congress. Democrats hope it might be passed over the summer.
“The jobs plan is going to allow states and local government to move forward with long-overdue projects to fix roads and bridges, to expand and modernize transit — by the way, transit not only in big cities, but in small communities — and connect more of our communities,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday. “Any individual community and any state stands to benefit in a big way.”
New York Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez hailed the proposal as an “ambitious” plan that will create jobs and enhance the nation’s competitiveness.
“Enactment of the American Jobs Plan will provide New York with the necessary resources to renew and modernize infrastructure in every region of the State, including investments in our roads, bridges, railroads, airports, seaports and public transportation systems,” she said.
Details about specific projects and funding will be offered in the coming weeks and months.
The infrastructure package goes well beyond just transportation investments, including billions of dollars for affordable housing, clean energy tech
A release from the White House identified 1,702 bridges and more than 7,292 miles of highway in poor condition in New York.
nology, manufacturing investments and money to support caregivers for seniors and the disabled.
State and local governments will be able to access the $2 trillion in investments through some existing formulas and by applying for competitive grants. The package could fund multibillion-dollar projects like replacing the Gateway Tunnel in New York City and award smaller grants for things such as improving bus systems.
Asked which projects should be prioritized for funding in New York, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer mentioned the Gateway Tunnel as well as upstate efforts such as completion of the Capital Region’s tri-city bus route — which he has helped secure funds for in the past — as well as Syracuse’s I-81, Rochester’s inner loop, Buffalo’s Main street and Route 17 in the Hudson Valley.
“There’s a long list,” he said.
Amtrak announced it could expand service to Albany if it receives the $80 billion earmarked in Biden’s proposal. The administration has proposed paying for the investment through corporate tax increases.
Republicans in Congress object to these increases and are quick to point out that the package strays from more traditional definitions of infrastructure, mixing in items from Democrats’ climate agenda and more.
“It’s the Green New Deal packaged up as a fake infrastructure bill,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-texas, said. “If Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats’ so-called infrastructure bill passes, it will kill hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
Buttigieg dismissed the question of what is infrastructure as a “semantic debate” and insisted it had bipartisan support. He added that the American Jobs Plan will not eliminate the need for state and local governments to continue their own investments.
“I have not yet seen a case where proposed local investment makes any less sense because the federal government is stepping up,” he said.