Flat Funding For Local Roads Puts Communities At Risk

Brace for more potholes this year, that is, if our governor chooses not to increase funding for the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS). CHIPS is the state-funded infrastructure program that sends money to local governments to repair, maintain and improve local roads, bridges and highways. It’s one of the core ways towns, villages, cities and counties pay for paving, resurfacing, drainage and other transportation upgrades. This funding is vital, especially now as we continue to grapple with inflated material costs, and that is why I am calling for an additional $250 million in base aid to be included in the final 2026–27 state budget. This would bring funding to $898.1 million, a number far more appropriate considering the condition of our local roads and bridges.

Every year, Assembly and Senate Republicans fight for increased CHIPS funding because the cost of repairing roads never stays static—and it certainly never goes down—a fundamental fact that is routinely brushed aside. Gov. Kathy Hochul’s executive budget proposal keeps CHIPS funding flat, a puzzling decision given that she herself has acknowledged record-high inflation in highway construction materials. According to the Federal Highway Administration Highway Construction Cost Index, highway construction costs have risen 70% over the past three years. That surge directly reduces the real dollar value of local highway maintenance programs.

Funding levels ultimately determine how much paving and repair work can be completed each construction season, which is why, as has become tradition, we sent a letter to state leaders on behalf of transportation officials, municipalities and taxpayers across New York state, urging them to protect the seemingly disputed necessity of safe roads for all.

TRIP, a national transportation advocacy group, reports that substandard and congested roads cost New York drivers an additional $40.3 billion annually, up to $3,755 per driver in some areas. Why continue patching our way through this when proactive investment is far more efficient?

It’s true that related programs like Extreme Winter Recovery, PAVE?NY, and Pave Our Potholes help supplement local transportation funding. But CHIPS is the load?bearing beam of local road budgets, and you cannot ignore a weakening beam just because a few braces are nearby. When the main support gives way, the rest won’t hold the structure for long. And while the New York State Department of Transportation’s highway system has benefited from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which increased federal highway aid to New York by 52%, only 13% of local roads qualify for federal aid compared to 97% of state?owned roads.

Keeping CHIPS flat is inadequate and, frankly, irresponsible when the safety of drivers is at stake. Underfunded, crumbling infrastructure means more accidents, more potholes and more out?of?pocket costs for commuters. New Yorkers depend on safe, reliable roads every single day, and our funding priorities should reflect that.

If you have any questions or comments on this or any other state issue, or if you would like to be added to my mailing list or receive my newsletter, please contact my office. My office can be reached by mail at 19 Canalview Mall, Fulton, NY 13069 and by email at [email protected]. You may also find me, Assemblyman Will Barclay, on Facebook or X at @WillABarclay.

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