ALBANY – Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski is calling on Governor Hochul to support local highway departments by increasing state funding for upstate roads and bridges to protect public safety and lower costs for local taxpayers.

“Ensuring the safety of our roads and bridges is a fundamental part of our job as elected officials. Every dollar invested by Albany in local roads is a dollar saved by local taxpayers. The governor kept upstate local government transportation aid the same as last year in her executive budget proposal while increasing downstate transit aid $37.2 million. Upstate New York deserves its fair share. If the governor expects town, village and county highway workers to maintain these roads, then Albany needs to give them the resources to do the job,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said.

Assemblyman Sempolinski urged Governor Hochul and state legislative leaders to add an additional $250 million to the 2025-26 state budget for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS).

“This is a safety issue, it’s a quality-of-life issue and it’s an economic development issue. Local roads account for 87 percent of New York’s road system. The job of maintaining those roads falls to our local highway departments. I’m fighting to secure the funding our local highway and DPW crews need to do that work,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said.

According to the Federal Highway Administration Highway Construction Cost Index, construction costs have increased 70 percent over the last three years, putting a greater strain on the ability of local governments and local taxpayers to maintain essential infrastructure including roads and bridges.

A 2023 study of local highway and bridge needs by the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways (NYSAOTSOH) found that municipalities would need an additional $32 billion over 15 years to restore locally-owned roads through repaving and improvements, or $2.1 billion annually.

“An increase in CHIPS funding is an investment that makes sense. It will help our local public works and town highway crews maintain our roads and bridges and it will assist community growth, economic development, job creation and, most importantly, public safety,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said.