Assemblyman Ken Blankenbush (R,C,I-Black River) joined a bipartisan group of lawmakers, hundreds of local highway officials and representatives from key local government groups to rally for an increased investment in our state’s deteriorating roads, bridges and culverts.

Blankenbush is calling for a $150 million increase in Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) funding. This is state aid allocated to towns, villages, cities and counties to complete locally-prioritized infrastructure projects.

“This program is so successful because it marries local input and local control with resources that many municipal governments just don’t have, particularly upstate,” said Blankenbush. “Our state has billions and billions of dollars in unmet infrastructure needs, and if we don’t start increasing our commitment to solving that problem now, the outcome is going to be larger, more dangerous problems that will be even more expensive to solve down the line.”

Blankenbush is also encouraging the governor to restore funding for the Extreme Winter Recovery Program, state aid to help localities repair roads damaged by storms.

“We can’t balance the budget by shortchanging local governments and endangering motorists. When it’s about public safety, we need to find the money,” said Blankenbush.

Blankenbush contrasted this successful program with some of the governor’s economic development priorities.

“Creating good jobs by modernizing our infrastructure might not make for the most exciting press release, but it’s so effective. If the governor wants to promote economic growth, he should ditch the gimmicks and invest in the sort of first-rate infrastructure that job creators want to see in a thriving region,” said Blankenbush.