ALBANY – Here’s some good news for drivers in Western New York: The region’s locally owned bridges are in better condition than their counterparts across most of the state.
The bad news is the region remains home to scores of locally owned bridges in “poor” condition, according to a new report from state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli covering 2023.
Gradings of 1,412 locally owned bridges in five Western New York counties determined 669 of the spans (47.4%) were in “fair” condition; another 641 (45.4%) were in “good” condition; and the other 102 (7.2%) were in poor condition. The region boasted a higher percentage of bridges in good condition and lower percentage of bridges in poor condition than the statewide percentages figures but performed below the state’s overall percentage of bridges in fair condition.
The five Western New York counties had a higher percentage of local bridges in good condition than the Southern Tier, Central New York, Mohawk Valley, Capital Region, Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island, falling under only the Finger Lakes and North Country.
The region’s most poorly rated locally owned bridges were in Chautauqua County (26), followed by Erie County (25), Cattaraugus County (19), Allegany County (24) and Niagara County (8). The study identified an additional 14 poorly rated locally owned bridges in Genesee County, eight in Orleans County and two in Wyoming County. The three counties were not included as part of Western New York in the study.
The comptroller’s report, titled “The Conditions of Locally Owned Bridges in New York State, An Infrastructure Update,” said it can be difficult for local governments to invest in long-term infrastructure needs, such as upgrade of bridges, while also maintaining day-to-day operations.
“When choices must be made, local governments sometimes postpone infrastructure spending in favor of short-term needs,” the report stated….
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