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As part of the New York State Department of Transportation’s Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), New Rochelle received $115,161 in funding that “may only be used for sectional pavement placement, mill and pave work.”
It has been estimated that roadway repairs will take several months, which led the New Rochelle City Council to unanimously approve an ordinance that allowed them to waive the regular public bidding process and get straight to work.
This marks the latest effort by city officials to patch up roadways that were severely damaged by the winter’s harsh weather. In March, the City Council agreed on a $200,000 expenditure that allowed DPW crews and outside contractors to make repairs. Since then, according to Mayor Noam Bramson, several thousand potholes have been filled with nearly 30,000-square-feet of roads repaired.
Robert Sinclair Jr., the manager of media relations for AAA New York noted that this winter was unusually rough on roads throughout the state.
“An unprecedented combination of weather, roads already in poor condition and the inordinate number of trucks in our region have led to an epic number of potholes,” he said. “The situation is a stark reminder of the need to ensure that the federal highway trust fund is adequately financed so that our crumbling infrastructure can be rebuilt.”
Bramson noted that with the summertime fast approaching, repairs on roadways will be rapidly undertaken in time for the busy summer driving season.
“The bigger and longer-term fix is scheduled for the summer, when many local roads will be completely resurfaced,” he said. “The City Council has tripled our annual paving budget, which will enable us to rebuild many more roads, while also reducing pothole repair needs in future years.”
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