Infrastructure Report Card 2005

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New York

Roads

34% of New York's major urban roads are congested.
35% of New York's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition.
Vehicle travel on New York's highways increased 26% from 1990 to 2003. New York's population grew 7% between 1990 and 2003.
Driving on roads in need of repair costs New York motorists $3.2 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $285 per motorist.
Congestion in the Albany area costs commuters $208 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time.
Congestion in the Buffalo area costs commuters $182 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time.
Congestion in the New York City metropolitan area costs commuters $893 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time.
Congestion in the Rochester area costs commuters $103 person per year in excess fuel and lost time.

Bridges

38% of New York's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

Dams

There are about 54 state-determined deficient dams in New York.
New York has 383 high hazard dams. A high hazard dam is defined as a dam whose failure would cause a loss of life and significant property damage.
The rehabilitation cost for New York's most critical dams is estimated at $303.1 million.

Drinking Water

New York's drinking water infrastructure needs $13.15 billion over the next 20 years.

Wastewater

New York has $20.42 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs.

Solid Waste

New York generates 1.29 tons of solid waste per capita.
New York recycles 17.1% of the state's solid waste.

Schools

67% of New York's schools have at least one inadequate building feature.
76% of New York's schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition.

Engineer Anecdotes

"Increase the gas tax and dedicate those funds for purely road and bridge improvements." - a civil engineer from New York, NY

"I am a bridge inspector for NYSDOT. I see the poor condition that our bridges and roadways are everyday. However, the general public is not aware and does not wish to be made aware service is interrupted. There needs to be an awareness campaign for the public. The public wants/deserves a better infrastructure but no one wants to pay for it. We need a medicare/medicaid funding system for our aging bridges." - a civil engineer from Wappinger Falls, NY

"I find it more than a little scary that the average person living in my area is so used to seeing corroded rebar easily visible in most concrete bridges, that he/she might think it is supposed to be there!" - a civil engineer from Syracuse, NY

"The October fire/power failure in the Amtrak/LIRR East River tunnels highlighted a strategic infracture weakness and critical safety deficiency which everyone has known about, and which had been highly publicized, yet the responsible agencies continue to move at a glacial pace in upgrading the tunnels." - a civil engineer from New York, NY

"Unfortunately, most people do not understand the hazard that aging dams present since they do not drive on them or see tham every day. However, the destructive potential of these particular structures is immense." - a civil engineer from Rochester, NY

From the Headlines

A deteriorating creek wall could create traffic headaches for residents of one city neighborhood for the next few months. The city's Department of Public Works closed the intersection of South Cascadilla Avenue and Sears Street Tuesday due to cracks in the pavement resulting from advanced deterioration in the underlying creek wall. Rick Ferrel, the city's assistant superintendent of public works for streets and facilities, said the crumbling creek wall could be as much as a century old. Crews have known for a few years that it needed to be repaired, he said, but the work was delayed for various reasons. The pavement started sinking a few years ago. Ithaca Journal 3/10/04

Built in 1930, the Bridge Street overpass at the New Hamburg Metro-North train station is located just north of the station and serves vehicular traffic entering and exiting the New Hamburg community west of the tracks. And while most commuters park in the station lot east of the tracks and access the southbound platform by way of an underground pedestrian tunnel, others that are driven to the station cross the overpass and are dropped off on the southbound side. In addition to commuter traffic, the overpass services fuel trucks that access an oil company located in the hamlet as well as school buses and, in warmer weather, a large amount of vehicles en route to a marina. There is considerable corrosion and rust on the underside of the overpass. A continual stream of water can be seen dripping from a large pipeline that traverses the top of the structure, bringing water to the New Hamburg community from the Town of Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie Journal 3/13/04

Officials at the Town of Babylon, which maintains New Highway, cannot say when the shoulders of the highway were last repaired. Several times a year, the holes are filled with dirt and gravel. But rain -- and wear and tear -- soon knocks it loose and the ruts and holes return. The town cannot afford permanent repairs. A rebuild of the badly deteriorated road is out of the question, town highway department officials said. Newsday 7/21/04

A 60-foot-long slab of concrete fell from a bridge over the Grand Central Parkway in Queens, critically injuring a man in a van. Police said the unidentified victim was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center with head injuries and two broken legs. The concrete chunk, 4 feet wide and 3 feet thick, suddenly dropped from the underbelly of the Steinway St. bridge in Astoria in a V shape. The van rammed into it, crushing the vehicle's front end. The badly deteriorating bridge is in the process of being replaced. Daily News 7/24/04

A downpour immobilized much of the New York City subway system and highlighted how an otherwise durable transit network still finds itself particularly vulnerable to an altogether predictable threat: a quick, heavy rainfall. Most of New York City's 6,000 miles of sewage lines are dual use, which means they handle rain runoff as well as sewage and industrial wastewater in the same pipe before delivering it to one of the city's 14 treatment plants. But heavy rains perennially overwhelm the pipes, causing the flow to back up, dumping everything from fecal matter and household trash to industrial pollutants like oil, grease and heavy metals into the city's waterways and streets. New York Times 9/2/04

More than 11,100 city classrooms are overstuffed -- with 10,000 of them in high schools -- a new teachers union survey shows. Queens high schools, where overcrowding has been a chronic problem, were the most packed on average. The union found 4,490 Queens high school classes had more than 34 students -- the cap outlined in the union's contract with the city. New York Post 9/24/04

One in seven schools surveyed statewide reported unsafe levels of lead in their drinking water in a state survey where thousands of other schools didn't even respond. All 4,500 schools in the state were contacted in April and only 700 have responded. Now the Health Department is seeking the support of the state Education Department to find out if far more schools are carrying lead in drinking fountains and cafeterias. Lead is linked to learning disabilities. So far, the survey shows 120 of 700 schools that responded reported at least one test that showed lead levels above the federal standard. Times Union 11/5/04

In a report that could transform New York City's public schools, a court-appointed panel has found that $9.2 billion worth of new classrooms, laboratories, libraries and other facilities were needed to relieve overcrowding, reduce class sizes and give the city's 1.1 million public school students adequate places to learn. The panel gave the state only 90 days to figure out how to put an extra $9.2 billion towards school construction and repairs, but allowed that money to be phased in over five years. The plan calls for about $1.8 billion in each of the five years. New York Times 12/1/04

Enough potholes have cropped up along the New York State Thruway to warrant several days of emergency repairs, but one official warned that the patches won't last. Both directions of the Thruway between the Tappan Zee Bridge and Exit 14 in Spring Valley are riddled with potholes or newly repaired potholes. The only remedy to still more potholes is to rebuild the road. The foundation along several sections of the road has failed, and it's not really possible to repair the Thruway correctly by placing "good stuff over bad stuff". The Tappan Zee-to-Spring Valley section of Thruway opened in December 1955, and that its age is showing. In 2006, the state expects to go out to bid for major reconstruction work. The tab for that work is estimated to be about $15 million, but the job depends on the availability of state funding. Journal News 12/28/04

Two major fires rudely reminded New Yorkers last week just how vulnerable they are to a nearly invisible threat: Inadequate government investment in maintenance and modernization and the surging population are overwhelming the city's aging public works. The city's public works and the state-run mass transit system are in vastly better shape than they were a generation ago after years of neglect. Still, the subway system just celebrated its centennial, 7 percent of the city's water pipes are more than 100 years old -- one, in Greenwich Village, dates to 1844 -- and more than 400 bridges are rated in only fair condition. Repairs often cannot keep pace with normal wear and tear. In 1998, Alan G. Hevesi, then the city comptroller, warned that the city needed to spend at least $40 billion more on public works over 10 years, but added, "While the need is enormous, the city's ability to meet all capital obligations is limited both by law and by insufficient funding capacity." Mr. Hevesi, now ththe state comptroller, warned last year that according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's own estimates, stations and the signal system would not be in a "state of good repair" until 2024 and 2027, respectively. Despite fare increases and service cuts, Peter S. Kalikow, the chairman of the authority, said last month that without new taxes and fees from the state, the authority could afford either its $17 billion program to maintain the system or $16 billion to expand it, but not both. Last November, a report commissioned by the state warned of severe consequences -- "the transportation infrastructure will deteriorate, the economy will falter, jobs will be lost and the quality of life in New York State will suffer dramatically" -- unless tens of billions of dollars were invested in the next five years alone. But when the system, whose cars date to 1963 and whose pumps were designed when the Panama Canal was being built, will be in good repair is arguable. New York Times 1/30/05

Sources

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