HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. - New York State lacks long-term planning for addressing its infrastructure challenges.
That's what several engineers said during a panel discussion Tuesday at Hofstra University on Long Island.
New York State received a C-minus grade in a 2015 infrastructure report card released by the American Society of Civil Engineers including a D-plus for bridges, a D for wastewater and a D-minus for roads.
Panelist Robert A. Dennison III, a New York director for transportation design at planning, engineering and design firm VHB, said the ASCE report identified 2,012 structurally deficient bridges with only 385 scheduled for repairs over a two-year period. He also pointed to the Empire State's failure to combat rising surface transportation needs with $40 billion needed by 2030 to keep up with road conditions, according to the ASCE report.
"There is no long-term plan at this point for dealing with these things," said Dennison during the forum sponsored by Hofstra's School of Engineering and Applied Science. It was coordinated in conjunction with the university's hosting of the first presidential debate on Sept. 26.
"That's not the way infrastructure was conceived and in my view it is going to get worse," Dennison said.
Craig Ruyle, the NYSDOT's regional construction engineer for the Long Island region, said one of the biggest history lessons on the importance of maintaining infrastructure was when New York City's transit system fell into disrepair during the 1970s. He said that while the city's subway conditions are in far better shape today, future infrastructure funding is still needed to prepare for rapidly changing needs.
"When we make these capital investments in infrastructure… we need to follow up with a plan to take care of that," said Ruyle, who has been with the State Department of Transportation for 24 years and managed reconstruction projects on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. "We're designing and building roads and bridges to last for 50, 75 or 100 years. That does not mean you build a bridge and walk from it."
Christine Gayron, president of Bethpage, N.Y.-based civil engineering firm Gayron de Bruin, emphasized that many utility lines and water facilities across New York have also been neglected. Gayron's firm worked with the New York State Department of Transportation on land surveying in preparation for crucial storm-recovery projects following Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
"The water, the sewer and the underground electric, you don't necessarily see that stuff so you don't think about every day, but it is what is bringing service to our homes and businesses so all that needs to be also maintained and upgraded," said Gayron. "What you don't see underground is also in a state of disrepair because it was built 50 to 100 years ago and it wasn't built to take on the load that we have now."
