Road projects placed on hold
Gov. David A. Paterson is suspending hundreds of current and new construction projects because of the state's budget woes, including a proposed highway to connect Interstate 81 to Fort Drum.
Paterson administration officials told the Associated Press on Tuesday that all projects not paid for by federal economic stimulus funds will be delayed until the Legislature and the governor agree on a 2010-11 budget or emergency funding.
That includes Route 781, an estimated $103 million project for which bids were supposed to be opened Thursday. However, acting state Department of Transportation Commissioner Stanley Gee said late Tuesday that DOT will "postpone" all project lettings scheduled for that day.
Mr. Lee said in a statement that until DOT receives spending authority, either through an enacted budget or an emergency budget bill, "payment for construction and consultant activities after March 31, 2010, is not guaranteed" on state projects.
While some site preparation and tree removal work is under way on the Fort Drum connector, the bulk of the work is scheduled to begin this summer with completion slated for 2012.
The connector is designed to ease traffic concerns stemming from Fort Drum's expansion and construction-related jobs associated with the growth. The four-lane highway is seen as an additional way to help keep the post off any future base closure lists.
The state DOT's share of the project was projected to be $16.6 million, according to transportation officials' request for $95 million in federal stimulus-related grants through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program.
In that application, which was denied in February by the federal Transportation Department, state DOT officials estimated that 248 jobs would be created during the busiest phase of construction next year.
The governor's extraordinary order also tells contractors on existing projects that the state won't fund any work after the start of the new fiscal year Thursday until there is a budget or emergency funds. The soonest that could happen is April 7, when the Legislature returns. Or it could come April 14, when an emergency spending appropriation expires.
The order exempts projects that are planned to address "emergency health and safety needs" as certified by the Division of Budget. Contractors were to be notified Tuesday.
The action will be significant for communities statewide where projects are under way or planned.
Suspending the work will probably result in layoffs and setbacks for local economies. It will also likely put pressure on senators and Assembly members who left Albany this week to take their Passover-Easter vacation without agreeing on a new budget.
"This is a difficult choice and it shows how difficult this is, because these projects do put people to work," said Timothy Gilchrist, one of Paterson's senior advisers.
Contractors will have to decide whether to go ahead without a flow of state cash as they contemplate the Interstate 87 Exit 6 redesign on the Adirondack Northway in Albany County and the Route 110 interchange project on the Long Island Expressway.
There was no immediate estimate of the number of jobs or the value of projects that will be affected, Gilchrist said.
Times staff writer Brian Kelly contributed to this report.
