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AMSTERDAM, NY—Congressman Paul D. Tonko announced this afternoon that five of the Capital Region transportation projects he submitted in April to the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee are slated to be awarded a total of $19,955,000 in federal funding under the newly-unveiled surface transportation reauthorization legislation. Tonko pushed to get a group of priority Capital Region transportation projects added to the next federal budget through a Congressional funding stream that is separate, and in addition to, the Community Projects he highlighted last week.

“Our Capital Region possess incredible economic and community strengths that we can harness and further multiply with these smart, bold investments in some of our most critical infrastructure,” Congressman Tonko said. “I’m delighted that I was able to get this set of worthy projects into the first draft of the new House surface transportation bill. This progress would not have been possible without the work of our local leaders and organizations who identified their most urgent local needs and offered bold visions for addressing them—helping ensure that our Capital Region is in the best possible position to secure federal support that will bring forth new jobs and help grow our regional economy.”

Capital Region projects Rep. Tonko secured in this first full draft of major surface transportation legislation:

• $6,000,000 for Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) for the project: Purchase of Eight Electric Buses for Use in Emerging Markets, which would provide zero emission battery electric buses to expand service in Montgomery County and the City of Amsterdam.
• $5,700,000 for the City of Troy for the project: Route 2 Multi-Modal Connectivity Project, which would create a continuous bicycle and pedestrian route along the Congress Street Bridge that will connect the Cities of Watervliet and Troy.
• $4,500,000 for the City of Amsterdam for the project: Multi-Modal Phase I/Pedestrian Connector Project, which would create a nexus of transportation, development, and open space in the heart of downtown north of the tracks while linking to existing open spaces on the waterfront.
• $2,700,000 for the City of Schenectady for the project: Craig Street Corridor Project, which would construct multimodal elements and safety infrastructure to build a physical and social bridge to strengthen bonds and empower access in the Mont Pleasant and Hamilton Hill community.
• $1,055,000 for the Town of Clifton Park for the project: NY 146 and NY146A Bicycle & Pedestrian Access Improvements, which would expand and improve bicycle and pedestrian paths.

The T&I Committee will hold what is expected to be a marathon mark-up of the major legislative package tomorrow, Wednesday June 9th.

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