(Long Island, NY) Assemblyman Michael Montesano (R,I,C-Glen Head) has joined his colleagues and advocates in calling for increased state funding for local bridges, roads and highways.
During the week-long, annual advocacy campaign “Local Roads Matter,” hundreds of bi-partisan state legislators, county and town highway superintendents and road workers gathered at the NYS Capitol to express their support for parity in infrastructure funding throughout the state.
“Our roads and bridges are suffering because of the lack of parity in funding – it’s as simple as that,” said Montesano. “Local roads and bridges account for nearly 90 percent of the roads, 52 percent of the bridges, and 48 percent of miles traveled by New York State residents.
“We need to fix our crumbling roads for the mothers traveling to a doctor’s appointment, the bus drivers shuttling students to school, and the young professionals hurrying off to work. Until we get the funding we need, my colleagues and I will keep fighting. New York residents and visitors deserve roads and bridges that will get them from one place to another safely.”
Montesano recently signed on to a letter to the governor reiterating the dire need of assistance for local infrastructure throughout the state. The legislators outlined the importance of increasing state funding for infrastructure through the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) and creating a new, four-year state aid program to be adopted in this year’s budget.
