North Country Assemblywoman Addie J. Russell, (D-Theresa) says she is targeting crumbling roads and barely passable rural bridges during this year’s budget season.

With nearly half of all miles driven in the state taking place on local roads, Russell said our funding priorities need to reflect that reality and she’s advocating for a portion of the state’s $5 billion surplus to be allocated toward local highway departments.

To put the emphasis on local roads, Russell said she is proposing a $500 million, five-year spending program that targets high needs roads and bridges managed by local communities.

Russell’s district includes all St. Lawrence County towns along the St. Lawrence River including Massena, Ogdensburg, Louisville, Waddington, Lisbon, Oswegatchie, Morristown, and Hammond; plus the towns of Canton, Potsdam, Rossie, Macomb, and DePeyster, along with northern Jefferson County not including Watertown.

“Local roads account for 87 percent of the roads in the state and 51 percent of the bridges are local as well,” Russell said. "To fail to invest in this system is really to fail to invest in our communities."

In his proposed budget for the 2015 fiscal year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo pledged a significant amount of funding to infrastructure projects. But Russell said the spending plan would leave out many local governments, especially those in rural locations far from major transit routes.

“The proposal from the governor has the state focusing on the heavily traveled corridors, but that does not account for all the needs of our agriculture community - like getting products from the back roads to the main corridors,” she said. “It doesn't take into consideration the needs of our workforce."

"Now, especially while we have a $5 billion surplus, is the time when we should be investing in our communities and our economy,” Russell said. "Our tourism destinations in the North Country are largely in small towns. If we don't have adequate roads that people feel safe driving on, that negatively impacts our growing tourism industry."

Russell said she is also targeting the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPs) for increased funding. The program helps localities maintain their roads and bridges and financial support for it has stagnated in recent years.

“Funding for the CHIPs program has really been flat over the last few years and has not kept pace with the cost of maintaining our infrastructure,” she said. “I'm asking for an increase of $150 million a year for the CHIPs program to help clear the backlog of maintenance projects.”

"We have not been able to keep up with the maintenance and replacement needs of our roads and bridges and culverts in this state, which often times leads to road closures and reduced speeds in addition to unforeseen work that costs our communities more,” Russell said.

Russell said aging infrastructure is an obstacle for local businesses hoping to grow and for communities trying to bring in new business. Russell’s plan investment will be targeted towards local highway departments who know their communities and the needs of their regions better than anyone.

"The state has not been investing in our local infrastructure the way it should be,” Russell said. “I believe this is the year for the state to commit to significant and substantial funding for our communities to ensure we fully recover from the recession. Ensuring workers can get to jobs, that our agricultural sector can operate, that we're able to attract businesses and tourists - that should be the focus of infrastructure investment."

In addition to increased funding for roads and bridges, Russell said she is calling for a $200 million investment in water-quality projects on the local level to help bring the North Country’s aging sewer systems into the 21st century.

"Local agencies, local governments, are really what make this state run, and we have to recognize that and we have to provide resources accordingly to ensure we are making the right investments that are good for the long term future of the state,” she said.