WGXC-90.7 FM

Federal infrastructure bill would bring billions to New York's planes, trains, and automobiles

Aug 02, 2021 2:00 pm

Joseph Spector reports in the Democrat and Chronicle about the infrastructure bill that may pass in the U.S. Senate this week and what it means for New York. There is $1,480,000 for upgrades at the Columbia County airport in the bill, part of $1 billion being spent at airports across the state. If passed, Amtrak would get $66 billion for an expansion and overhaul nationally, and New York Senator Chuck Schumer said $24 billion would go to the Northeast corridor modernization plan. Amtrak also wants to provide new service from Albany to Boston with money from the bill. New York's roads and bridges would get $2 billion extra above the $11.5 billion annual federal infrastructure spending. "It has been decades since Congress passed such a significant, stand-alone investment," Schumer said late Aug. 1 on the Senate floor. "In order for our economy, workers and businesses to succeed in the 21st Century, we cannot have infrastructure that’s stuck in the last century." Read more about this story in the Democrat and Chronicle.