Washington, DC -- Congressman Eliot Engel, Ramapo Supervisor Christopher St. Lawrence, State Senator David Carlucci, and Assembly Member Ellen Jaffee joined in calling for a federal rebuilding program to salvage our country’s infrastructure, and put people back to work to energize our economy.

Rep. Engel said, “The Montebello Avenue bridge was damaged by a storm, but many of the bridges and roads in Rockland and, indeed, throughout America, have fallen into disrepair through neglect and lack of funding.

“In the 17^th Congressional District,” he said, “there are 10 structurally deficient bridges (according to the U.S. Department of Transportation) as well as the Tappan Zee Bridge which is well past its originally-projected lifespan.

“The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that the U.S. needs to spend about $94 billion a year for the next nine years just to bring our infrastructure to ‘sufficient standards’. Besides roads and bridges we must take care of water and sewage systems, electrical systems, telecommunications and similar projects.

“The federal government needs to take the lead on this effort. Right now, we have record low borrowing costs and 9 percent unemployment rate. The rate among construction workers is even higher. Now is the time to repair our country, and our economy, and put our people back to work.”

Ramapo Supervisor Christopher P. St. Lawrence said, “An infusion of federal funding thanks to the efforts of Congressman Eliot Engel, will most assuredly expedite the reopening of this important local thoroughfare.”

“The Federal Government and New York State must partner together to ensure that there is funding to address our vital infrastructure needs,” Senator David Carlucci (D-Rockland/Orange) said. “Rebuilding and maintaining our infrastructure will not only keep our residents safe and our state in good working order, it will create good paying jobs that our residents need. I would like to thank Congressman Engel for his efforts to get federal funding for these projects.”

“From the Montebello Road Bridge to the Tappan Zee Bridge, there are countless projects across this county and country that can put people to work repairing our core infrastructure," said Assemblywoman Ellen Jaffee. "I applaud Congressman Engel for taking up the cause of our battered roads and bridges, and urge his colleagues in Washington to support the job creating infrastructure investments our communities urgently need."

Rep. Engel said that infrastructure is the best way to create jobs, andthat he joined with President Obama  calling for the development of a National Infrastructure Bank. It could be used to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.

Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, called for a fully-funded and robust “Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users” (SAFETEA-LU) also known as the surface transportation bill.

Federal, state, local governments, and the private sector, he said, can and must work together to rebuild this country’s crumbling infrastructure.”

According to the Federal High Administration every $1 billion invested it creates 30,000 jobs.

Spending on improving roads and transit leads to increased safety, less pollution, reduced congestion and improved economic development and job growth.

A significant part of our road and transit systems, water and electrical systems are now at the end of their life expectancy. Without fixing these we will not be able to effectively compete in the next century. Countries like China are spending 9% of their GDP on infrastructure, while the United States spends 2.4%. We also now rank 23^rd in the overall quality of our infrastructure behind countries like: Barbados, Oman, Singapore, Hong Kong and United Arab Emirates.

“This is unacceptable for a country as advanced and rich as ours,’ he said. “Now is the time for Congress to pass the President’s Jobs Act, and a new surface transportation bill to rebuild our country while putting millions back to work.”

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