ALBANY COUNTY — Two local road projects are among those being funded statewide with $516 million in assistance announced this week by the governor.
Albany County is receiving $2.473 million for the superstructure replacement of the Route 352 bridge over Fox Creek inRensselaaerville.

The existing 40-foot long steel bridge is being replaced with a three-sided concrete box on piles, according to the county’s website.

The town of Guilderland is getting $1.244 million for the replacement of the Foundry Road culvert carrying a tributary to the Hunger Kill.

This funding, provided through the State’s BRIDGE NY initiative, is aimed at helping local governments across the state — 141 in all — harden their existing infrastructure while boosting the resiliency of bridges and culverts in the state.

The initiative, according to a release from the governor’s office, supports projects that combat climate change by reducing the risk of flooding, improve the resiliency of structures, and facilitate regional economic competitiveness while prioritizing projects that benefit environmental justice communities.

More than $716 million that has previously been awarded to local governments under the BRIDGE NY initiative. As part of the state’s $32.8 billion capital plan adopted last year, $1 billion was committed to BRIDGE NY, effectively doubling the size of the program.

The awards were selected based on input from Regional and Metropolitan Planning Organizations and the funding will support all phases of project delivery, including design, right-of-way acquisition, and construction.

“Considering that local governments are responsible for the maintenance of 87 percent of the roads and over half the bridges in the state,” said New York State County Highway Superintendents Association President Kevin Rooney in the release, “BRIDGE NY funding is vital to county highway departments’ efforts to maintain, rehabilitate and enhance the resiliency of our vast systems of bridges and culverts on these local roads.”

— Melissa Hale-Spencer