Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Steve Stallmer
Associated General Contractors of New York State
(518) 469-0839
May 27, 2010: Nearly $1 billion in construction contracts for New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) approved projects have not been awarded since April 1st, causing over 100 projects to be at risk. These figures will continue to multiply in the coming weeks unless legislators enact a new state budget.
“We’ve got to get these projects moving or we’ll lose the entire construction season,” said Steve Stallmer, Vice President of Government & Public Affairs for the Associated General Contractors of New York State. “Contractors have already lost the months of April and May, causing our state infrastructure to continue to deteriorate. As each day passes without awarding these contracts, we are wasting the opportunity to put thousands of people back to work.”
The Legislature approved an emergency spending plan on Monday that includes limited construction funding for on-going projects only. The Governor and our legislative leaders have failed to provide the authority necessary to start construction on over a hundred DOT projects that have funding in place and were already put out to bid.
The stalled projects are in every region of the state and include deficient bridge replacements and repairs, improvements to highway surfaces and critical maintenance work on New York’s crumbling infrastructure. According to the Federal Highway Administration, every billion dollars invested in these projects would create 34,700 jobs.
For a complete list of the stalled projects, and more information on New York’s failing infrastructure, visit: www.NYBridgesAreFallingDown.com
