Push for more local highway funding in state budget

HALFMOON, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- Some state and local leaders are calling for more funding for local roads and bridges. Officials said the proposed funding in this year's budget for local highway and bridge projects has not kept up with the rising costs of construction materials and labor.

More than 80 percent of the state's roads are locally owned, which puts a lot of pressure on town and county highway departments to repair and maintain them each year. Officials said current funding does not go far enough.

"I was able, out of last year's budget, with the funding from the town as well as our CHIPS funding to pave 7.627 miles of roads," Halfmoon Highway Superintendent Bill Bryans said. "So that puts us on a 20-year timeline to repave roads. That's unacceptable."

Local highway departments are not eligible for federal infrastructure funding, so they are more dependent on money from their communities and the state.