Press Release
For immediate release: October 19, 2011
Contact:
Tri-State Transportation Campaign: Steven Higashide, 212-268-7474
Transportation For America: David Goldberg, 202-412-7930
Transportation advocates warned of potential federal cuts in bridge and other transportation funding after a new report from Transportation For America, The Fix We’re In For: The State of Our Nation's Busiest Bridges, showed that over 21 million vehicles cross structurally deficient bridges in New York state’s metro areas every day.
The state’s aging infrastructure means that drivers frequently cross structurally deficient bridges, particularly in metro areas. For example, in the New York City metropolitan area, 17.5 million vehicles cross a deficient bridge every day.
The federal Fiscal Year 2012 budget, which is being debated by Congress, could make it harder for states to maintain bridges, because a budget proposal being considered by the House would cut federal road, bridge, and public transit funds by a third. Congress also has been unable to pass a long-term transportation funding bill for 2 years.
“Many in Congress have talked about steep cuts to transportation, but this report shows that we can’t afford to cut back,” said Kate Slevin, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “Investing in bridges and transportation keeps New Yorkers safe and the economy competitive, and puts people back to work.”
“New Yorkers know it’s important to fix our bridges,” said Steven Higashide, federal advocate for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “That’s why we’re asking Congress to avoid drastic cuts that will put the region at risk and make it harder to maintain our infrastructure.”
Metro Population 2009 |
Metro Area Name |
Percent Deficient |
Total Deficient Bridges |
Average Daily Traffic on Deficient Bridges |
Drivers crossing deficient bridge every second |
19,069,796 |
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA |
9.80% |
778 |
17,505,467 |
203 |
1,035,566 |
Rochester, NY |
12.00% |
142 |
1,171,304 |
14 |
857,592 |
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY |
11.90% |
132 |
676,318 |
8 |
677,094 |
Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY |
12.20% |
98 |
662,288 |
8 |
1,123,804 |
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY |
8.60% |
99 |
591,016 |
7 |
646,084 |
Syracuse, NY |
11.90% |
104 |
588,596 |
7 |
Data: Transportation For America. Metropolitan areas are defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
“There are more deficient bridges in our metropolitan areas than there are McDonald’s restaurants in the entire country,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America; there are 18,239 deficient bridges versus roughly 14,000 McDonald’s. “These metropolitan-area bridges are most costly and difficult to fix, but they also are the most urgent, because they carry such a large share of the nation’s people and goods.”
The national report includes data for 102 metropolitan areas and is available on T4America’s website: Click here or visit t4america.org.
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Tri-State Transportation Campaign is a non-profit organization working toward a more balanced, transit-friendly and equitable transportation system in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. www.tstc.org
Transportation for America is the largest, most diverse coalition working on transportation reform today. We believe it is time for a bold new vision — transportation that guarantees our freedom to move however we choose and leads to a stronger economy, greater energy security, cleaner environment and healthier America for all of us. We’re calling for more responsible investment of our federal tax dollars to create a safer, cleaner, smarter transportation system that works for everyone. www.t4america.org