CHENANGO COUNTY – A new piece of state legislation is on the table that could protect funding intended for bridge repair in communities across the state, including Chenango County and other locations in the Southern Tier.

The BRIDGE (Bridge and Road Investment and Dedicated Fund and Guaranteed Enforcement) Reform Act, sponsored by Senator Tom Libous (R-Binghamton), requires an amendment of the state finance law to direct money toward necessary bridge and road construction and repair. Although the bill failed to pass the State Assembly when it was first introduced by Libous in 2008, he said conditions of bridges all over the state have only declined.

“I introduced the BRIDGE Act in 2008 because at the time, New York spent only 30 percent of the Dedicated Highway Fund on keeping our highways and bridges safe and sound,” stated Libous. “Since then, the situation has gotten worse.”

Libous’ bill phases out use of Dedicated Highway Fund for non-bridge and road expenses over a five-year period before completely prohibiting use of those funds for anything other than capital construction projects.

In defending the bill, Libous cited a report released by the New York Comptroller this month which discloses that only 22 percent of the $3.8 billion disbursed from the fund were spent on capital construction, which includes bridge repair in 2012-2013. He added that a bulk of the fund was used for unintended purposes such as department services, administrative costs for the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Transportation, and on routine snow and ice removal.