Last week, Assemblywoman Andrea Bailey (R,C-Geneseo) met with local highway department officials in her district and in Albany to discuss the ongoing critical need for greater infrastructure investment, reinforcing the bipartisan call for an additional $250 million to be allocated to local highway programs such as the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). Bailey also joined state and local leaders at the CHIPS press conference at the Canandaigua Highway Department, where officials stated that the executive budget fails to address the devastating impact of inflation on local transportation infrastructure.

“Unfortunately, the governor’s proposal does not adequately reflect the rising costs facing our local highway departments,” said Bailey. “Nationally, highway construction costs have soared more than 70% over the past three years, yet the executive budget does not propose any increase in funding for local roads. This is unacceptable. Without additional investment, our communities will struggle to maintain safe and reliable roadways.”

Local governments across New York, excluding New York City, spent $2 billion on road maintenance and improvements in 2020. A recent study by the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways determined that municipalities now require $2.69 billion annually to maintain and repair local roadways—a huge increase from previous years due to rising material and labor costs.

Bailey and her colleagues are advocating for:

• An additional $250 million for CHIPS, bringing the total to $848 million in the 2025-2026 budget.
• A streamlined approach to local road assistance programs, reducing administrative costs and paperwork for municipalities.
• Increasing the CHIPS bidding threshold from $350,000 to $1 million (or eliminating it entirely) to provide towns and villages with more flexibility in managing projects.