Transportation, Department of

Agency Web Site: https://www.dot.ny.gov/index

Mission

It is the mission of the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) to ensure its customers – those who live, work and travel in New York State – have a safe, efficient, balanced and environmentally sound transportation system.

The DOT directly maintains and improves the State’s more than 43,000 State highway lane miles and over 7,800 bridges. In addition, the Department partially funds locally-operated transit systems, local government highway and bridge construction, and rail, airport, and canal programs.

Budget Highlights

The Executive Budget recommends nearly $10 billion for the Department, a decrease of $212 million from the 2014-15 budget. This year-to-year change primarily reflects the net impact of increases in transit aid offset by the removal of the one-time, on-budget placement of the prior year authorizations of the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), the Marchiselli Program, Suburban Highway Improvement Program (SHIPS) and certain Multi-Modal funding.

The Executive Budget includes a workforce of 8,304 FTEs for the Department, the same level that was funded in 2014-15.

Major budget actions include:

• Increased Infrastructure Investment. The Executive Budget provides funding for a DOT capital program of over $3.5 billion in 2015-16, facilitating capital improvement of highways, bridges, rail, aviation infrastructure, non-MTA transit, and DOT facilities. The 2015-16 program will utilize the first $150 million of a new $750 million 5-year investment for a State and local bridge initiative, which will strategically accelerate the rehabilitation, reconstruction or replacement of approximately 100 bridges serving critical freight, agricultural and commerce corridors. Funding for local highway and bridge projects under the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) and Marchiselli program is maintained at a record high of $477.8 million.
• Increased Transit Funding. The Executive Budget provides operating support totaling $4.8 billion to transit systems. The MTA will receive over $4.35 billion, an increase of almost $37 million from 2014-15, and other transit systems will receive over $464 million, which reflects no change from prior year operating aid levels. The Budget includes $309.2 million in General Fund support for the MTA to fully offset the revenue impact of the 2011 payroll tax reform. The Executive Budget also includes a new appropriation of $121.5 million in resources drawn from downstate mass transportation operating assistance funds to pay for needed capital expenses of the MTA and the Non-MTA Downstate systems.
• Transit Debt Service Payment. The Executive Budget transfers $20 million from the Mass Transportation Operating Assistance (MTOA) account to pay debt service on bonds previously issued for the MTA capital program.

For more information on this agency's budget recommendations located in the Executive Budget Briefing Book, click on the following link:

Briefing Book – Transportation (PDF)

Note: Most recent estimates as of 01/21/2015

Click for additional detailed appropriation tables