Issue Position: Investing in Crumbling Infrastructure

Issue Position

We do not need to read reports or watch our local news to know that our roads, bridges, and water systems are in dire, immediate need of repair and replacement. In our Congressional District alone, there are 406 bridges -- or 34% of all bridges -- that are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete according to the American Road & Transportation Builders Association. You can read more from about our needs in the Capital Region at http://tiny.cc/PaulTonkoInfrastructure

Our roads are no different. Particularly during winter months, it's hard to go more than a week without hearing about a pothole or other deficiency with a major road that shuts down a school, a business, or otherwise interrupts our normal routine.

The need to upgrade our pipes and water systems is less talked about. Recent events in Hoosick Falls must be a lesson for us all on what can happen when we become complacent about the water we drink and how we deliver that precious resource to our homes and businesses.

Fixing our roads, bridges and pipes will cost money. There is no way around that. However, if we do not act now, our problems will grow costlier by the day not only in terms of dollars, but also in human lives.

From a bridge collapse in Minnesota, to man-made disasters in Flint, Michigan, I want us to learn from our past and ambitiously -- but responsibly -- invest in our crumbling infrastructure.

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