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Legislative Resources Legislative Updates are provided by Fred Hiffa. For questions or comments please email Fred at hiffa@juno.com or call (518) 436-6202. NYSAOTSOH Commissions 20 year Needs Study of Local Roads and Bridges Local Infrastructure has $45.7 Billion Need To read the full Local Roads 20-year Needs Study, click here. For the first time NYSAOTSOH has done a needs study of New York's local highways owned by over 1600 towns, villages, cities and counties. This massive system consists of 97,000 centerline miles and over 8600 highway bridges. Approximately 48 percent of total travel vehicle miles in New York occurs on local highways. This means that over 67 billion vehicle miles are traveled annually on local roads and this travel is increasing at a rate of almost 2.5 percent per year placing even more stress on our pavement and bridge infrastructure. The purpose of this report is to provide a needs estimate for our local pavement and bridge infrastructure for the period of 2010-2030. The study complements the recent transportation needs analysis conducted by NYSDOT and presented by Commissioner Astrid Glynn. The report describes the magnitude of the local highway system, provides condition data where available, and estimates the needs for the pavement and bridge infrastructure. The study was prepared by John J. Shufon, an expert in infrastructure condition forecasting. John worked at NYSDOT for over 30 years, serving as Director of the Agency's Condition Forecasting Unit until his retirement in 2006. NYSAOTSOH's Board members were concerned with the Commissioner's report because it didn't review our local system pavement needs and provided virtually no increase above our current funding level for local highway assistance (CHIPs). Her report did however analyze the 20 year needs of the state's private rail roads, local transit system's, airports and ports. Our report clearly shows the 20 year local bridge and highway needs for every DOT region in the state except New York City: Capital District $4.6 billion Utica Region $1.8 billion Syracuse Region $3.5 billion Rochester Region $3.5 billion Buffalo Region $4.2 billion Hornell Region $2.2 billion North Country $2.0 billion Hudson Valley $8.7 billion Southern Tier $2.9 billion Long Island $12.1 billion The overall local bridge and highway need translates into about $2.28 billion annually. The state's share to meet these needs translates into an additional $1.2 billion annually. We need to start gathering pictures of some of the worst bridges and roads in our system region by region, so when we release this report the media and legislators will have real visuals to better understand our needs . Together we will take these needs to every level of government. We will fight to ensure the needs of our local system get the same funding consideration as the state's infrastructure. The following is a brief summary of the report's highlights: New York's State and Local System. Table 1 demonstrates the sheer size of the local highway network. Centerline mileage and number of bridges are provided by region for both local jurisdiction and State DOT highways. As can be seen from the table, local highway mileage dwarfs State highways in all regions and local bridges outnumber their State counterparts by almost 1000. Table 1 Local and State Jurisdiction Centerline Mileage and Number of Highway Bridges NYSDOT Region Local Highway Mileage State Highway Mileage Local Bridges State Bridges 1 10223 1978 795 816 2 6750 1365 692 488 3 8111 1525 622 598 4 9044 1758 637 763 5 9157 1454 1126 842 6 7759 1085 1029 620 7 7927 1662 762 393 8 11952 2086 1107 1121 9 9681 1615 1086 839 10 10708 839 154 531 11 5800 181 602 606 Total 97112 15548 8617 7617 ***Sources: NYSDOT 2007 Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) submission to FHWA, NYSDOT 2007 Official Bridge Data Local Roads by Jurisdiction Table 2 provides a regional breakdown of local jurisdiction centerline mileage by municipality type. The table shows town owned highways comprise 60% of total local mileage. Table 2 Local Jurisdiction Centerline Mileage by Municipality Type and Region
***Source: NYSDOT 2007 HPMS submission to FHWA BRIDGE CONDITIONS Without Increased Funding an Additional 1,300 Local Bridges Will Become Deficient by 2030. NYSDOT collects comprehensive condition data for the entire population of bridges on the State's public highway network. Over 17,000 bridges are inspected biennially or more often if conditions warrant. The table shows local bridges are in worse condition than bridges on the State highway system. Further, the NYDOT needs study indicates an additional 1300 local jurisdiction bridges will become deficient over the next ten years and that at current funding levels (unadjusted for inflation), the percentage of deficient local bridges will grow to 45% by 2030. Condition Summary for Local and State Jurisdiction Highway Bridges
***Source: 2007 Official Bridge Data, NYSDOT ROAD CONDITIONS Local Roads are in Worse Condition than State. The key to the needs assessment process is to realistically estimate repair strategies and costs for local highways. This is not a simple process due to the diversity of the local network from high volume county roads on Long Island to the unpaved local functionally classified roads throughout rural New York State. In order to determine repair strategies, costs, and ultimately "needs" the following steps were undertaken: 1) Working with both local officials and representatives from the construction industry, and with input from the NYSDOT Pavement Needs Assessment Model (PNAM), baseline repair costs were determined by region for four general treatment types--major rehabilitation, minor rehabilitation, corrective maintenance, and surface treatment. It should be noted that consistent with the DOT analysis, these costs are contract costs and include repair of roadside furniture (guide rail, drainage structures, etc.) at the project site. 2) The mix of repair strategies to be applied to the mileage necessary to reach the 12 year paving cycle goal was based on region and the distribution of functionally classified roads within that region. For example, local roads in a region with a high proportion of urban principal arterials are assumed to receive a more rigorous mix of treatments (major rehab vs. minor rehab vs. maintenance) than local roads in a region with a high proportion of rural collectors and roads functionally classified as local. Table 4 provides an example treatment mix matrix for local roads in a typical region. Example Treatment Mix Material for Local Roads in a Typical NYSDOT Region
3) Pavement capital needs were calculated by multiplying the mileage in each cell by the appropriate costs as determined in steps 1 and 2 above. One preventive maintenance treatment (e.g. crack sealing) per 12 year paving cycle is included for roads receiving a major or minor rehabilitation. The resultant annual and 20 year needs estimates (excluding NYC) are given in Table 5. This table shows the annual pavement need for local highways is $2.014 billion or $40,280 billion over the 20 year analysis period. Estimated Pavement Needs for Local Jurisdiction Highways ($ Millions)
NEEDS ESTIMATE: BRIDGES $5.4 Billion Needed for Local Bridges. The New York State Department of Transportation utilizes sophisticated computer models to forecast future bridge conditions at various funding levels. These models consider a multitude of variables including bridge type, materials, geometrics, repair costs and deterioration rates. The NYSDOT modeled local bridges and estimated an investment level of $13.2 billion (including New York City) is required to improve conditions at a rate comparable to State bridges. According to Commissioner Glynn's testimony, this will reduce local bridge deficiencies by 5 percentage points over the 20 year period. It should be noted that in order to remove New York City from the analysis, needs were allocated across all regions based on square footage of deficient deck area. Table 6 shows the results of the apportionment process. The annual capital bridge need for local highways (excluding NYC) is $270 million or $5.4 billion over the 20 year period. Estimated Bridge Needs for Local Jurisdiction Bridges ($ Millions)
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION Expenditures on local roads are not even close to keeping pace with the deterioration process. Bridge conditions are also slipping. Forecasts show local bridge deficiencies will grow to 45% by 2030 and this forecast does not consider the debilitating effects of construction inflation brought on by soaring oil and steel prices. Pavement conditions even on the most important and best maintained local roads are significantly worse than conditions for other State maintained highways. Approximately $1.2 billion is needed annually in additional pavement and bridge investment to reverse the deterioration process. Total 20 Year Pavement and Bridge Needs for Local Jurisdiction Highways ($ Millions)
***excludes New York City Legislative Update:Support for S. 3309-A (Wright)/ A. 8158-A (Aubertine) By Fred Hiffa The New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, Inc. (NYSAOTSOH) was made aware of two competing bills in the legislature concerning the matter of Low Volume Roads. NYSAOTSOH strongly urges passage of S. 3309-A Wright/ A. 8158-A Aubertine. An explanation of this bill and a comparison to the alternate bill are provided below. The Senate version of this bill was passed. The Assembly did not bring the bill to the floor. While contact with any member of the Assembly may be helpful, the Assembly sponsors of the measure include Aubertine, DelMonte, Destito, Scazzafava, Magee, Reilly, and Young. This legislation defines and clarifies how low volume roads in rural towns would be classified, maintained, and, in the event it was necessary, declassified. NYSAOTSOH supports town boards and superintendents of highways being able to classify specific roads in their towns which are not highly traveled to save the expense of unnecessarily bringing these low volume and seasonal roads up to state or national standards and maintaining them in inclement weather. These low-volume roads provide important access to forested, agricultural and recreational land which otherwise would not be available. In addition, by their very nature as minimum maintenance roads, they also serve to protect valuable open space and rural landscape important in many parts of the State. If such roads were required to be maintained to the "best engineering standards" it would encourage development patterns affecting both the rural economy as well as the rural character of vast portions of upstate New York. While the concept of requiring "best engineering standards" on all roads may sound good, the standards set by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) are simply not practical nor necessary for seasonal low volume roads, especially in small towns. According to the Cornell Local Roads program, these standards are either extremely costly to implement or assume the specific guidance of engineering personnel not present in small local highway departments. From a financial standpoint, many towns simply could not afford to implement AASHTO standards on all town roads without substantial and unrealistic budget increases. For example, the Town of Martinsburg wrote to our Association emphasizing that their entire annual budget is $650,000. A currently threatened law suit could potentially force the town to reconstruct just one such road at a cost of $330,000 and require an additional $300,000 for the crew and equipment to maintain it. In practice, many of these roads are public highways only by prescriptive easement through use by the public. These roads have become town highways by default, not by acceptance. Additionally the prescriptive easements are limited to the width of the road bed and often do not allow municipalities to maintain adjacent ditches or vegetation, even if the financial resources to do so were available. Under this legislation (S. 3309-A Wright/ A. 8158-A Aubertine), various types of low volume roads are clearly defined. For example, a "recreational land access road" is defined as one that provides access to recreational land including seasonal homes, parks, and recreational lands – the volume of traffic on such roads would vary by season. A "minimum maintenance road" is defined as a whole or portion of a low volume road with on average zero to fifty vehicles traveling it per day. These roads primarily provide access to farm land or recreational land. Minimum maintenance roads would never include those roads that provide access to a farm's center of operations or to a year-round residence. The town board would make the designations of its roads as well as define how they are to be maintained based on traffic volume, types of vehicles on the roads, and current land uses. At least 45 days prior to a resolution declaring a road designation the board would refer it to the town highway superintendent and the town planning board for recommendations. At least 10 days before the public hearing regarding the designation, notification would be given to all property owners on the road. After the public hearing the town board would issue its findings: volume and type of vehicles, that property owners adjacent to the land would still have reasonable access, that users of the road traveling at reasonable speeds would not be placed in a hazardous situation by the classification, and a determination that the road does not provide access to a farm center. Any person owning property on a road that has been designated as a minimum maintenance road could petition the town to discontinue the designation. The town board would hold a public hearing and determine whether or not it is in the public's best interest to keep the road as a minimum maintenance road. If the board denies the reclassification then a new petition could not be filed for at least two years. If the board determines that it is in the best public interest to change the classification then it may change the designation by local law. If the road is declassified as a minimum maintenance road then the change would take effect six months after the commencement of the next fiscal year or whenever the road has been improved to meet town standards but no later than three years. This legislation provides a reasonable approach to the classification and declassification of minimum maintenance roads. Other legislation, S. 3317A Winner/ A. 3917-A Koons, has been introduced which also would provide for limited use highway designations. The main concern with this other legislation is the process and criteria for removing the limited use designation. Under this other legislation to remove the designation an owner of an operating farm center, residence approved for year-round occupancy or a commercial building would simply have to file a petition with the town clerk to change the classification of the road. The town board would then determine whether there was sufficient money in the current budget to provide for the discontinuance of the limited use highway and if so must grant the petition and adopt a local law to discontinue the classification. In the event that there is not enough money the petition may be denied for the current fiscal year but must be included in the preliminary budget for the following year. If the town board determines that the declassification of the road will substantially disrupt the town and be a detriment to public interest it could delay the discontinuance but by no more than three fiscal years. Under S. 3317A Winner/ A. 3917-A Koons the town board does not have the authority in an appropriate case to simply deny the petition but rather must discontinue the classification even in those cases where a property owner built with full knowledge that the road was a minimum maintenance road. This is both an unfair and unnecessary burden on the taxpayers of the town. Accordingly, The New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, Inc. strongly supports S. 3309-A Wright/ A. 8158-A Aubertine as the more appropriate approach to both classification and declassification of low volume roads.
Libous Bill To Aid Dedicated Fund; Tim Spring Extends Association Support August 7, 2007 After the recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis, much discussion has been generated about the safety of our nation's bridges and roads. In Albany today, Sen. Thomas Libous held a press conference to announce new legislation called the BRIDGE (Bridge and Road Investment and Dedicated Fund Guaranteed Enforcement) Reform Act. NYSAOTSOH President Tim Spring was on hand to show Association support for the measure. "It's a shame that no one takes notice of transportation issues until there is a major accident, but it is a privilege for me to support Sen. Libous who has long supported our efforts. With an aging infrastructure, rising construction costs and limited financial resources, we need solutions to maintain the system now or we will pay more in the future," said Spring. The Dedicated Fund was created in 1991 to support spending on reconstruction, replacement, reconditioning and preservation of highways and bridges. Since then, the Dedicated Fund has been used for dozens of non-bridge and road expenses totaling $750 million annually! This act calls for a five year phase-out of those expenses and will prohibit such uses in the future. Most notably, the expectation is to cover expenses for DMV Operations and DOT Snow and Ice from the general fund. "With 29% of the State's bridges being rated fair or poor, we can't continue to tolerate dedicated money being spent on DMV Operations or other non-capital costs," said Libous. According to a December 2005 report by the State Comptroller, more than half (55%) of the Fund's disbursements went toward capital projects in 1994-1995, but only about a quarter (28%) of disbursements went toward capital projects in 2004-2005. There is bi-partisan support from Sen. John Sabini, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Transportation Committee. "The creation of the Dedicated Fund was a contract with the taxpayers that, over the last few years, has not been fulfilled," said Sabini. Reforming the Dedicated Fund has been a priority for Sen. Libous during budget negotiations for the past two years. While some success was achieved in securing a $20 million offload in 2006, the Assembly and the Governor would not agree to any further offloads this year.
SUPERINTENDENTS TEAM WITH LIBOUS AND LEGISLATURE FOR RECORD INCREASE! We can once again thank the members of our Association for their outstanding efforts during Advocacy Day which led to a new funding record for Consolidated Highway Improvement Programs (CHIPs). As in years past, the Executive Budget failed to recognize the real needs of our local roads. But thanks to the efforts of our state legislators in particular Senator Tom Libous, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, who has personally made CHIPs funding a top priority, and the Joint Transportation Sub Committee Chairs, Senator Mike Nozzolio, Assemblymembers David Gantt and Richard Brodsky—we will receive the largest CHIPs allocation ever. The 07-08 New York State Budget passed on April 1st increased CHIPs funding to a record high of $312.5 million. This is $16 million more than the Governor's proposed budget and $3 million more than last year's budget. Congratulations! The Governor's 07-08 budget increased CHIPs to $296.5 million and left the Marchiselli capital aid program flat at $39.7 million. It also increased the bond cap for local highway and bridge service contract bonds issued by the Thruway Authority by $20 million to accommodate the increase in the CHIPs program that was authorized in 2006. In the 07-08 executive budget the Governor's proposed number of $296.5 million for CHIPs was $7 million more then Governor Pataki's initial number of $289.5 million in the 06-07 budget but was $13 million less than the final number enacted by the Legislature in the 06-07 budget. Our Association requested an additional $25 million in CHIPs assistance. When you met with your legislators you helped them recognize the needs of local roads and the importance of a proportional increase in funding. They responded with the record increase in CHIPs funding of $16 million bringing CHIPs funding to $312.5 million. 2007-2008 was the second year in our four year plan to add an additional $100 million to the $100 million we already secured in the New York's current five year transportation plan. We are proud to have already secured nearly 40 percent of this goal and it is only with the continued support of our members and your efforts with the Governor and our Legislators that we can continue to make such great progress. CHIPs ALLOCATIONS FOR 2007-08 ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
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