Thruway Capital Needs, Roadway Challenges Top Agenda at CIC-BCA Fall Membership Event
By GEORGE DRAPEAU III – November 2024
TARRYTOWN, NY—“Our infrastructure needs are never going to end,” New York State Thruway Executive Director Frank Hoare, Jr., told more than 100 construction industry executives at the fall meeting of the CIC-BCA last month at the Sleepy Hollow Hotel here. “We finish one stretch of pavement, we finish one set of bridge—either rehab or complete restructuring them—and we’re on to the next project.”
As the meeting’s keynote speaker on Oct. 16, Mr. Hoare thanked the group of contractors, union officials and suppliers for helping the Thruway to achieve a “modest toll increase” that recently went into effect, enabling the Thruway to expand the capital plan from “$1.9 billion over the next five years to $2.4 billion.” He added, “That’s not enough. We’re going to continue working to increase those capital dollars—$451 million was committed this year; $400 million next year.”
He said a significant amount of that $400 million will be committed in the Hudson Valley. Among the projects he listed include almost $14 million on the Route 9 pedestrian bridge in Tarrytown; almost $37 million to be spent on 12 miles of pavement from Harriman to Newburgh; and $63 million on I-95. “And that is only a portion of what we need to spend,” he said.
“We estimate that there will be approximately another $100 million of increased revenues over the next five years—and that’s going to allow us to increase our capital budget by another $500 million over five years. We’re putting all that money right back into the system for operating, maintaining and building. That means jobs and that means our infrastructure is taken care of.”
Safety of the Workforce, Contractors and Traveling Public
The authority is still reeling from the tragedy last may in Rochester, he said. There Thruway employees were sideswiped by a tractor trailer, killing one and seriously injuring another. He said the authority is using technology to enhance work zone safety. The new speed enforcement program targeting work zones is at work in 30 vehicles equipped with Automatic License Plate Readers (LPR) that can monitor speeds in work zones. Any vehicle traveling more than 10 MPH over the posted work zone speed will be issued a heavy fine via mail, the state reported.
“Speed cameras are moved around every week (on NYS DOT and TA road projects) to capture who’s speeding through these work zones. Just since April and May, we’ve had 85,000 speed (violations) through work zones. And over 400 have been caught three or more times,” he said, adding that actions are now underway that have targeted these violators to stop their unsafe driving.
Turning to new federal funding, Mr. Hoare explained that until last year, the Thruway had never received a federal grant. “Almost all grants go to state DOT or some other state or local transportation entities,” he said. Last year, the authority won four grants, including $21 million toward the $84-million Castleton Bridge project. “That frees up that amount of money to spend $21 million someplace else. We will continue to pursue federal grants any way we can because it helps us in our overall efforts to redirect every dollar possible into the system.”
Another grant-worthy program the TA is pursuing involves new technology to detect over-height tractor trailers. He said the goal is to identify over-height vehicles before they enter the Thruway system, and then get that information to the driver and the companies they drive for. With its ability to detect trucks if they’re over the federal guidelines of 13 feet six inches in height, hopefully the “driver will stop and avoid bridge strikes.” He added, “All of our bridges are a minimum of 14 feet two inches in height—so when (truck drivers) slam in (to a bridge or overpass), they’re already eight inches over the federal limit.”
The commitment to infrastructure is constant; there’s always something to be updated and improved. With the Thruway Authority now celebrating its 70th anniversary this year (1954-1955), a vast majority of its 817 bridges are now more than 50 years old, and 90 of them are on the list for improvement, he stated, adding that the work planned for half of the Thruway’s more than 2,800 lane miles will keep construction crews busy for a long, long time.