Assemblywoman Addie A.E. Jenne, D-Theresa, met with over a dozen highway superintendents and Department of Public Works superintendents from around St. Lawrence County recently to listen to their concerns about funding cuts in the executive budget proposal.

St. Lawrence County Highway Superintendent Donald Chambers, who led the delegation, said the importance of the state's Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPs) funding to maintaining town and county roads and village and city streets, according to the assemblywoman’s office.

Jenne said that she would be fighting to have a $65 million Extreme Winter Weather fund restored to the state budget. The executive spending proposal eliminated that funding.

She said she will also advocate for the first increase in CHIPs funding in five years.

"As New York continues to work to attract new businesses, support existing employers and lay a foundation for the future, we must continue to expand our investment in critical infrastructure," Assemblywoman Jenne said following the meeting.

"Local governments continue to face intense financial pressure, making it especially important for us to increase CHIPs funding," she added.

"Last year’s enacted budget saw no CHIPs increase. This is a difficult budget year because New York faces a sizable deficit, but I’m hopeful that we can find a way to support this program to ensure struggling communities across the state have access to reliable infrastructure upon which to build future economic growth," Jenne said.

She said she will call for maintaining the PAVE NY funding and seek to increase the state's funding commitment to the BRIDGE- NY program so that its distribution recognizes the dire state of many of the bridges in the region.

"St. Lawrence County was only able to fund one major bridge project last year at a time when they have a number of structures that need to be repaired or replaced in the very near future," Jenne said. "A number of our bridges in the region were built around the same time and are nearing the end of their life spans. We are approaching a crisis and need to make necessary repairs. I'm hopeful that our federal officials can reach a major infrastructure deal that will invest more funding to road and bridge projects in the coming years.”

Assemblywoman Jenne, who noted that she travels hundreds of miles each week, said major fluctuations in temperatures this winter have taken a toll on the North Country's infrastructure.

"We need to restore the $65 million Extreme Winter Recovery program. Winter weather is constantly a strain on municipal resources, and extreme weather is making this impact more severe. It’s important that we fund this program," she said.

Jenne said she was appreciative of highway superintendents from Clare to Brasher to Morristown taking time to meet with her and share their concerns.

"It's so important to hear the concerns from the men and women in the trenches dealing with the impact of the decisions we make in Albany," she said.

She cautioned highway officials that state lawmakers are facing a challenging budget year and acknowledged the final spending plan will be a result of some tough funding decisions.

Jenne said in addition to hearing concerns about the state budget she also gained information from the highway superintendents and DPW chiefs about policy changes at the state level that are impacting local highway projects.

Highway superintendents also said they have had roads damaged by flooding this winter and last summer that need major repairs.

They noted emergency funding was not made available to communities with tributaries that flow in to the St. Lawrence River even though they also were impacted by last summer's high water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.