From FY 1993-94 through FY 2008-09, only 34.9 percent, or $11.6 billion of Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund spending was on capital projects while 37.7 percent, or $12.6 billion, went to fund state operations for the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation. The remaining 27.4 percent, or $9.1 billion, of spending paid for debt service.
The Trust Fund was created in 1991 to fund the construction and rehabilitation of state-owned roads and bridges. Initially, the Trust Fund was established as a self-sustaining, pay-as-you-go model to fund transportation capital expenses with revenues from highway and motor vehicle taxes. However, starting in FY 1994-95, the Trust Fund paid debt service for bonds that were issued by the Thruway Authority and never approved by voters. Operational revenue and spending were also added to the Trust Fund, further diluting its original mission.
DiNapoli’s report notes growth in state operations and debt service spending far outpaced spending on capital projects. Over the 16-year period, spending on capital projects grew by just 17.5 percent, while spending on state operations and debt service grew by 191.7 percent and 577.1 percent respectively.
To meet the Trust Fund’s growing obligations and the structural imbalance, the state increased General Fund support to the Highway and Bridge Trust Fund. In FY 2007-08, General Fund support for the Highway and Bridge Trust Fund was $12.7 million. The Division of Budget projects General Fund support will balloon to $396 million in FY 2009-10 and to $991.9 million by FY 2013-14. Over the next five years, DOB projects the state will need to transfer a total of $3.9 billion into the Highway and Bridge Trust Fund to meet the Trust Fund’s obligations.
The Trust Fund has paid for debt service for several programs including a significant portion of the state’s transportation capital plan, the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program and Marchiselli bonds. All of this debt is the result of back-door borrowing that was never approved by voters. Debt service payments from the Trust Fund totaled $140 million in FY 1994-95 and jumped to $950 million in FY 2008-09. It is projected that by FY 2013-14, debt service payments will total 72 percent of the Trust Fund’s dedicated tax and fee revenues.
DiNapoli’s report recommends that state officials:
- develop a multi-year plan to address the Trust Fund’s unsustainable debt burden, return structural balance to the Trust Fund and ensure its ability to meet the state’s highway and bridge needs today and in the future;
- prepare and publicly release quarterly updates of the Trust Fund’s five-year capital program and financial plan; and
- create a comprehensive strategic planning process for state capital projects that prioritizes infrastructure needs to meet the critical needs of the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges.
Marc Herbst, Executive Director of the Long Island Contractors’ Association; Roger Clayman, Executive Director of the Long Island Federation of Labor; and Antoanela Vaccaro, Manager of Government Affairs at AAA New York, joined DiNapoli at the news conference.
“Comptroller DiNapoli’s report highlights the need for the state to get serious about funding its critical transportation projects,” Herbst said. “Rust, gravity and cracks are going to mock the state’s continued looting of the Highway and Bridge Trust Fund. Just here on Long Island, nearly 50 percent of local bridges have been labeled as deficient by the state Transportation Department. Political expediency will not protect our region’s infrastructure. It will not put anyone back to work. And it will not prevent Long Island from playing its historic role as an economic generator for the state.”
“New York’s roads and bridges are getting short-changed,” Clayman said. “The Highway and Bridge Trust Fund was created to make sure that the state’s transportation infrastructure needs did not languish. Unfortunately, Comptroller DiNapoli’s report shows this did not happen. Long Island has the workers needed to keep the area’s road and bridges safe but the state needs to recognize the value in investing in the state’s roads and bridges.”
“While we recognize the enormity of the fiscal crisis facing the state, funding transportation improvements is critical to improving the state’s economic standing,” said John A. Corlett, Legislative Committee Chairman for AAA New York State. “For obvious reasons, transportation is a vital component in economic growth. Yet, the state has ‘disinvested’ in its transportation infrastructure. In fact, over the past decade, the state has come to rely on federal aid to account for a greater and greater share of state transportation programs. Transportation infrastructure funding must be a priority if the state has any chance of improving its economic standing.”
Included is a regional list of some larger projects included in the DOT’s proposed Five-Year Capital Plan that are in need of funding. The Governor already deemed this plan as too expensive, implying that it will be reduced. This list highlights just a sample of unmet critical transportation needs across the state and the situation is likely to worsen.
Statewide Capital Projects: Where will the Money Come From?
| Project | Estimated Cost * | Funding Status |
| Capital District (DOT Region 1) |
||
| Patroon Island Bridge replacement | $174.1 million | Funding In Question |
| Crown Point Bridge - Essex County repair | $51.1 million | Funding in Question |
| Rt 146 bridge over the Mohawk | $20.4 million | Funding in Question |
| Dunn Memorial Bridge I-787 rehab | Not Funded | |
| Mohawk Valley (Region 2) | ||
| North-South Arterial & Viaduct - Oneida | $72.8 million | Funding in Question |
| Central New York (Region 3) | ||
| Rt 3 bridge over Oswego Canal | $14.7 million | Funding in Question |
| Rt 5/20 bridge over Seneca Canal | $12.5 million | Funding in Question |
| I-81 Viaduct in Syracuse | Not Funded | |
| Genesee Valley (Region 4) | ||
| I-390 and Rt 15 interchange bridge | $104.1 million | Funding in Question |
| I-390 road projects | $147.6 million | Funding in Question |
| I-390 Kendrick Road (I-590) interchange | Not Funded | |
| Western New York (Region 5) | ||
| I-86 bridge at Chautauqua Lake | $41.8 million | Funding in Question |
| I-86 road projects | $116.1 million | Funding in Question |
| LaSalle Expressway I-190 roadwork | $29.7 million |
Funding in Question |
| I-90/I-290 Corridor | Not Funded |
|
| Peace Bridge U.S.-Canada Port of Entry | Not Funded |
|
| Buffalo Harbor Bridges | Not Funded |
|
| Southern Tier/Central New York (Region 6) | ||
| Rt 352 bridge replacement - Steuben County | $22.5 million |
Funding in Question |
| Rt 186 pavement rehabilitation | $19.7 million |
Funding in Question |
| North Country (Region 7) | ||
| I-87 bridge projects | $33.9 million |
Funding in Question |
| Fort Drum Connector | $113.4 million |
Funding in Question |
| Odgensburg-Prescott Bridge redecking | Not Funded |
|
North Country (Region 7) |
||
I-87 bridge projects |
$33.9 million |
Funding in Question |
Fort Drum Connector |
$113.4 million |
Funding in Question |
Odgensburg-Prescott Bridge redecking |
|
Not Funded |
Hudson Valley (Region 8) |
||
Rt 17 Exit 122 bridge work - Orange County |
$49.7 million |
Funding in Question |
Rt 17 roadwork |
$108 million |
Funding in Question |
Bronx River Parkway Metro North bridge work |
$48.2 million |
Funding in Question |
I-684 bridges |
$44.7 million |
Funding in Question |
Taconic State Parkway interchanges (Putnam & Dutchess) |
$62.8 million |
Funding in Question |
Palisades Parkway rehabilitation |
|
Not Funded |
Rt 17 conversion to I-86 between I-84 and I-87 |
|
Not Funded |
Southern Tier (Region 9) |
||
Rt 17 bridge over Neversink River |
$27.4 million |
Funding in Question |
Rt 17 I-86 interchange |
$210.2 million |
Funding in Question |
Rt 17 I-81 interchange |
$210.6 million |
Funding in Question |
Rt 17 conversion to I-86 |
|
Not Funded |
Long Island (Region 10) |
||
Robert Moses Causeway rehabilitation |
$204.1 million |
Funding in Question |
NY 347 CR 97 interchange |
$85.6 million |
Funding in Question |
NY 112 reconstruction projects |
$74.8 million |
Funding in Question |
Oakdale merge on Sunrise Highway |
|
Not Funded |
Sunrise Highway corridor in Brookhaven |
|
Not Funded |
Meadowbrook Parkway - Southern State Parkway Interchange and corridor between Northern State and Southern State Parkways |
|
Not Funded |
New York City (Region 11) |
||
Belt Parkway bridge work |
$278 million |
Funding in Question |
Major Deegan bridge work |
$266.5 million |
Funding in Question |
Bronx River Parkway bridge work |
$255.7 million |
Funding in Question |
Kosciuszko Bridge replacement - start |
$403.9 million |
Funding in Question |
Van Wyck viaduct replacement |
$217.2 million |
Funding in Question |
Bruckner/Sheridan Interchange reconstruction - Hunts Point access |
|
Not Funded |
BQE Triple Cantilever in downtown Brooklyn |
|
Not Funded |
LIE/GCP/Van Wyck interchange |
|
Not Funded |
Gowanus Expressway future phases |
|
Not Funded |
Kosciuszko Bridge replacement - completion |
|
Not Funded |
| * Estimated cost in the Department of Transportation’s 2009 Proposed Five-Year Capital Plan. | ||
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