Setting the Agenda: Transportation Infrastructure

One of Albany’s top priorities every year is securing sufficient funding to help fix the state’s crumbling roads, bridges and tunnels.

But there will be a new wrinkle in the scramble for capital during the 2015 legislative session. As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state lawmakers mull how best to spend the state’s $5 billion windfall from bank settlements, perhaps the loudest call has been to invest the money in the state’s infrastructure and transportation systems.

“New York, very much like the majority of the Northeast, has a lot of roads, bridges and, really, a good transportation system, but it is aging and very much in need of resources,” state Sen. Joseph Robach, the chair of the state Senate Transportation Committee, said. “So, certainly as transportation chairman, but even prior to that, trying to get adequate resources in place is always a priority.”

Robach said his goals for the 2015 legislative session are to increase the federal government’s funding for roadway and bridge maintenance and negotiate more reliable funding for the future.

“The money they have historically given back to the state needs to get re-upped and that’s been diminishing for a good reason: because it’s based on the amount of fuel used, [known as] “fuel tax,” which is going down because of more fuel-efficient cars, car conservation and efforts to promote mass transit, [all of which] have reduced the carbon footprint,” Robach said. He said he would like to negotiate a different mechanism of funding with the federal government.

Several state lawmakers have said the one-time settlement money should be invested to help boost long-term projects. Robach believes investing the settlement money smartly could fix infrastructure issues for 10 to 30 years and provide construction jobs at the same time. Cuomo has also suggested using the settlement money to help improve the state’s infrastructure, with the money to be distributed through a new infrastructure bank.

Despite growing support for investing the funds in state infrastructure, state Sen. Carl Marcellino urged caution.

“[The settlement money] cannot be treated like ongoing revenue,” said Marcellino, chair of the state Senate Committee on Infrastructure and Capital Investment. “[Fixing the state’s infrastructure] is a big job, and the cost is going to be a lot. I don’t want to estimate the cost because there’s no way to do that right now, but that $5 billion is a drop in the bucket. So when people start to say, ‘Well, we need a billion too’—well, yeah, we all need a billion, and cutting up that pie has to be looked at carefully.”

Marcellino believes some of the settlement money should help pay for the $3.9 billion project to replace the aging Tappan Zee Bridge. The Cuomo administration has been mum on how the state will pay for the reconstruction of the bridge, and it is still unclear if commuters will face a large toll increase to help pay for the cost.

New Yorkers could also face higher tolls and fares from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $15 billion funding gap in its five-year capital plan. Robach and Marcellino both noted the funding gap as a major issue facing the MTA, which is headed by Tom Prendergast.

“That’s something we have to look at and work with Mr. Prendergast [to address] and make sure he’s done everything he can do to generate as much money as they can generate,” Marcellino said. “They own a lot of property. We have to make sure the buildings and structures that they own are being utilized and have a future.”

As Infrastructure and Capital Investment chair, Marcellino also oversees the airports in downstate New York. During his 2014 State of the State address, the governor announced he would wrest control of the then-stalled renovation projects at JFK and LaGuardia airports from the Port Authority and place them under the command of the his administration. In October Cuomo announced a design competition to upgrade both airports.

The state will also need to continue to oversee the bidding process for the plans and construction work, Marcellino said.

“It’s a big project, and we’ve got a lot of priorities. We have to prioritize so you get the most egregious things done first. But everything will have to get done eventually.”

Another issue up for debate will be the renewal of design-build legislation, which allows a single contractor to bid for both the design and construction of an infrastructure project. With the legislation set to expire at the end of December, officials worry they will lose a valuable cost-saving tool for road and bridge projects across New York.

“I think it has been a real benefit to the department, a real benefit for the state, and I think it would be a disgrace if it doesn’t get passed,” state Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said this fall.

Toll Reform Can Fix New York's Transportation Woes

Alex Matthiessen is president of Blue Marble Project, an environmental consulting firm, and director of the Move NY Campaign. John Corlett is AAA-NY’s legislative committee chair. 

Our transportation infrastructure is in serious trouble.

City streets and state highways are riddled with potholes and our bridges are deteriorating. Rapid transit is crowded, often delayed and still scarce in certain neighborhoods. Fares and tolls keep going up, yet New Yorkers aren’t getting much in return, in part because other funding sources are drying up.

Raising existing taxes on sales, payroll or gas are unpopular options and can’t generate the necessary funding. Forget borrowing, too, as it just means much higher tolls and fares for those already facing significant increases. Short-term fixes in the form of one or two-year capital plans just guarantees New Yorkers worsening roads and more second-rate transit.

However, one idea gaining traction is the Move NY Fair Plan. By balancing New York’s outdated tolling system, we can free up trapped revenue and revamp our outdated transportation infrastructure. The plan advocates cutting tolls on the seven MTA bridges while restoring (electronic) tolls on the four, once-tolled “East River bridges” as well as across 60^th Street in Manhattan.

This “toll swap” could generate enough revenue to plug the hole in the MTA capital plan, fill transit gaps, and finance aggressive upkeep and improvement of city roads and bridges. As a bonus, the Move NY Fair Plan would curb gridlock and create over 30,000 new, recurring jobs.

Given the history of the highway trust fund in New York, protecting the new revenue may be a challenge, but experts say it can be done, mostly through bonding.

A recent poll suggests strong support for the Move NY Fair Plan. Let’s stop shortchanging our vital transportation infrastructure and saddling New Yorkers with more fare- and toll-backed debt. Toll reform has the potential to bring a measure of sanity back to New York’s transportation system. All potential funding solutions need to be on the table and publicly debated. The future of our transportation system and economy depends upon it.

Time Is Now for Infrastructure Investment, However It Is Done
Lawrence P. Roman, President and Chief Operating Officer of WDF Services

Infrastructure improvements are one of those rare items that enjoy bipartisan support. It should be considered an investment that not only creates well-paying middle class jobs but also helps to maintain New York City and New York State as a world-class destination.

There has been some debate as to how to pay for it. Many innovative ideas such as public-private partnerships, allowing U.S. companies with overseas funds to repatriate money only if they buy infrastructure bonds dedicated solely to that purpose, or increasing the tax on gasoline now at a time when gas prices have dropped precipitously have been discussed.

Whatever path our decision-making leaders decide to come up with, the time is now to make this much needed investment. Without it, our global competitors will be the ones to start getting the huge throng of visitors who have been such a huge boon to the New York economy.

We have seen a huge surge in the value of U.S. currency. Although we all like a strong dollar, this undeniably makes traveling in other countries less costly than here. Travelers will find the added costs of coming to New York not worth it unless we maintain and improve our infrastructure. History tells us to prepare now for this potential shift in travelers’ sentiments.

We are a world-class city. We need world-class bridges, tunnels, highways and subways.

Expanding Economic Growth and Opportunity for All New Yorkers
Louis J. Coletti, President & CEO, Building Trades Employers' Association

• Reform 240 Scaffold Law.
  Reform legislation must include the preservation of the rights of all injured workers to file a lawsuit for their injuries on a construction site, and it must maintain safe working conditions on construction sites. It must also change the current strict/absolute liability standard to a comparative liability standard that will give all parties the right to present evidence that affects the case to a jury. Without this reform, New York City will build 5,000 fewer classroom seats and thousands fewer affordable housing units. Due to higher insurance rates, at least 10 percent less of taxpayer money will be spent on public capital construction projects needed for creating new good jobs and expanding the state’s economy.
• Reform the M/WBE Program.
  Despite the best intentions of all involved, the M/WBE program has fallen short of expectations for public officials, M/ WBE and prime contractors. With New York State undertaking a new disparity study, more financial resources need to be allocated for purposes such as the certification and pre-qualification of M/ WBE companies, providing financial and bonding assistance to M/WBE firms and technical training tied to contract opportunities for M/WBE firms.
• Transportation and Infrastructure Financing.
  The more than $5 billion from the banking settlements New York State has received from the financial community should be spent on capital projects that provide the foundation for economic growth. Projects deserving of priority funding include the Tappan Zee Bridge, Moynihan Rail Station, Penn Station renovation and funding for the MTA Capital Program. Legislation authorizing the use of design/build that includes provisions to ensure fair labor standards is also critical in 2015.