Editor's Notebook June 2022

Craig Mongeau - Editor in Chief - June 2022

Bigger is hopefully going to be a whole lot better for New York State residents and for all professionals who work on our state's roads and bridges.

Recently, the DOT approved a new five-year, $32.8 billion Capital Plan that will support major infrastructure projects throughout the state.

It'll fund new large-scale projects, including the Kensington Expressway in Buffalo; the Livingston Avenue Bridge in Albany; Interstate 86 Conversion in Orange and Sullivan counties; and the Inner Loop North in Rochester. It'll also continue to fund existing projects, including the Hunts Point Interstate Access Improvement and the Replacement of I-81 in Syracuse.

The new capital plan is the largest investment ever in the state's transportation infrastructure and represents a $9.4 billion (40.2 percent) increase over the prior five-year plan period, according to NYSDOT.

The cornerstone of the new transportation capital plan, the DOT says, is the targeted and record level of investment directed toward local roads and bridges in smaller municipalities throughout New York. According to the DOT, under the enacted transportation capital plan, direct support for local roads and bridges increases to more than $6.1 billion over the five-year period, an increase of nearly $2.5 billion (69 percent) including the doubling of funding available through the BRIDGE NY program and the new Operation Pave our Potholes initiative.

What's also looking to be bigger and better than ever before is the N.Y.S. Highway & Public Works Expo, which will be Oct. 19 in Syracuse. We're happy to report as of press time that the large floor exhibit space is 75 percent sold and the 10 by 10 exhibit spaces are 25 percent sold. That's pretty good considering we're only in June. We want to thank the strong commitment we've already received from our long-time exhibitors.

Please contact Teddy McKeon Jr. for information about exhibiting at the Expo. You can reach him at tmckeonjr@cegltd.com and 800/523-2200.

And finally, if you plan on attending the Expo this fall, maybe mention to your favorite sales reps that you'd like to meet up with them at the show. If their companies aren't already exhibiting, we can assure them that the Expo will once again prove to be a great venue to get together to discuss and learn about all the new equipment and services available to you and your departments.

Thanks, and have a great start to summer. P