A bipartisan group of elected officials and representatives from about a dozen labor unions from the lower Hudson Valley met at the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 137 Training Center in Briarcliff Manor recently and called for more money to be spent on road safety by New York state. They called for increases totaling $1.2 billion.
Those involved included State Senators Pete Harckham, and Shelley Mayer, as well as State Assemblymembers Dana Levenberg, Steve Otis, MaryJane Shimsky and Matt Slater. Jeff Loughlin, president of the Westchester Putnam Building and Construction Trades Council and business manager of IUOE Local 137 hosted the event with John T. Cooney, executive director of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley, Inc.
Also on hand were union representatives from Laborers Locals 17, 60, 235, and 754. Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Local 1, Ironworkers Local 40, UA Local 21 Plumbers & Steamfitters, Sheet Metal Workers Local 38, Carpenters Local 279 and Teamsters Local 456 also had representatives at the event.
“While there has been an appreciable commitment to funding road and transportation infrastructure repairs by Gov. Hochul these past few years, now is the time to continue this momentum,” Harckham said. “This is especially true for the Hudson Valley region, which has more state roads in greater need of repair than anywhere else in New York. If we are serious about wanting to preserve our quality of life, foster economic growth and create good paying jobs, then we need to make the critical investments necessary to ensure the safety and viability of our roadways.”
Mayer urged Hochul to make what she termed “a long-overdue investment in the Hudson Valley and DOT Region 8 and to revisit the current 5-year capital plan to reflect critical infrastructure needs. For far too long, this region has been shortchanged, resulting in some of the poorest road conditions in the entire state.”
According to Levenberg, “Hudson Valley residents cannot keep paying for preventable car repairs on top of everything else they have to shell out.”
Otis said, “I join with my legislative colleagues, union officials, and construction industry leaders in advocating for increased state funding for our region to address our roadway infrastructure needs. The most cost-effective way to manage local projects, county roads, and state highways is to keep roads in good condition, properly maintain them throughout their life, and avoid allowing roads to deteriorate.”
Increased state funding will save taxpayer dollars by avoiding more expensive repairs when roads are not properly maintained. For all of us, this is a priority for the 2026 state budget.”
Cooney thanked Hochul and the State Legislature for the $800 million in increased funding for NYSDOT’s core program in last year’s budget.
“The Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley, along with our partners in organized labor, need to highlight the need for continued increased investment in New York State’s roads and bridges brought on by the over 30% inflation in construction materials post pandemic,” Cooney said. “But we are adamant that an increase of $950 million in NYSDOT’s core program is necessary to restore the buying power of the original NYSDOT Five Year Capital Plan. In addition, an increase of $250 million to CHIPS is needed to restore the buying power necessary to maintain our local roads and bridges. The Hudson Valley represented by NYSDOT Region 8 continues to have the worst road and bridge conditions in New York State while maintaining the largest amount of lane miles and largest number of bridges in New York state. Increased funding is sorely needed to improve the safety and conditions of the motoring public in the Hudson Valley.”
