Chenango DPW chief uncertain about receiving aid
CHENANGO COUNTY – Whether highway improvement funds are restored for Chenango and any other upstate county remains to be seen, according to Public Works Director Randy Gibbon.
Upon recently returning from an advocacy day in Albany, Gibbon said getting Consolidated Highway Improvement Program funding back to last year’s levels “may not happen at this point.”
“It’s going to be a battle between downstate and upstate once again. The Governor’s proposal was for restitution of CHIPs for only upstate. That’s not going to go over too well,” he said.
Chenango County was initially slated to lose an estimated $500,000 in CHIPs funds for 2008-2009 year. Gov. David Paterson later restored it for towns, villages, counties and small cities.
Chenango County’s highway department is also slated to receive $1.3 million in stimulus from the Obama administration soon, but Gibbon is unsure whether the money will actually come through. The first project on the county’s docket for the stimulus is the county Rt. 34 bridge replacement project, estimated at $1.1 million. Gibbon said his department is finding New York State Department Of Transportation requirement deadlines difficult to meet.
“We have to follow through with closings on properties, easement requests and attorney approvals, and get the project out to bid in 120 days. We are behind the gun,” he said. “I don’t know if we can make the requirements. If we don’t meet those deadlines, we might not get the stimulus.”
Meanwhile, officials are still waiting for the NYSDOT to rebuild the next section of state Rt. 12 from Greene to County Rt. 3A near Brisben. The $21 million project was supposed to go out to bid and is still scheduled, Gibbon said.
“I think they are trying to figure out how they are going to fund that project, let alone all of the state Rt. 12 corridor,” he said.
County road crews are currently cutting trees, clearing banks and patching potholes. Construction and paving continues on Rts. 35, 8 and 36. The DPW hopes to complete 30 miles of stone and oil overall this season; six miles of overlay paving on county Rts. 16 and 4; bridge work on Hogsback Road in Greene; a culvert on Rt. 38 in Bainbridge; a bridge deck on Red Mill Hill Bridge in Norwich; and take out a bridge on old state Rt. 23.
Upon recently returning from an advocacy day in Albany, Gibbon said getting Consolidated Highway Improvement Program funding back to last year’s levels “may not happen at this point.”
“It’s going to be a battle between downstate and upstate once again. The Governor’s proposal was for restitution of CHIPs for only upstate. That’s not going to go over too well,” he said.
Chenango County was initially slated to lose an estimated $500,000 in CHIPs funds for 2008-2009 year. Gov. David Paterson later restored it for towns, villages, counties and small cities.
Chenango County’s highway department is also slated to receive $1.3 million in stimulus from the Obama administration soon, but Gibbon is unsure whether the money will actually come through. The first project on the county’s docket for the stimulus is the county Rt. 34 bridge replacement project, estimated at $1.1 million. Gibbon said his department is finding New York State Department Of Transportation requirement deadlines difficult to meet.
“We have to follow through with closings on properties, easement requests and attorney approvals, and get the project out to bid in 120 days. We are behind the gun,” he said. “I don’t know if we can make the requirements. If we don’t meet those deadlines, we might not get the stimulus.”
Meanwhile, officials are still waiting for the NYSDOT to rebuild the next section of state Rt. 12 from Greene to County Rt. 3A near Brisben. The $21 million project was supposed to go out to bid and is still scheduled, Gibbon said.
“I think they are trying to figure out how they are going to fund that project, let alone all of the state Rt. 12 corridor,” he said.
County road crews are currently cutting trees, clearing banks and patching potholes. Construction and paving continues on Rts. 35, 8 and 36. The DPW hopes to complete 30 miles of stone and oil overall this season; six miles of overlay paving on county Rts. 16 and 4; bridge work on Hogsback Road in Greene; a culvert on Rt. 38 in Bainbridge; a bridge deck on Red Mill Hill Bridge in Norwich; and take out a bridge on old state Rt. 23.
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