Operation Phoenix

By Marc Herbst

Many ancient cultures share similar stories about an immortal bird associated with worshipping the sun. A magnificent phoenix rises from its predecessor’s ashes to new life in strength and power. The bird’s rejuvenation and renewal inspire us to pick ourselves up and pursue new challenges. Variations of this mythical imagery survive from early Egyptian, Persian, Greek, and Islamic civilizations.

In this edition of Long Island Road Warriors, we read about heartwarming examples of great leaders we playfully can say have risen from the ashes. These are great comeback stories that remind us to lift ourselves up after setbacks and realize we can come back even better and stronger. But we can refer to the Phoenix analogy as a person or an idea.

This legislative session, the Long Island Contractors’ Association is urging our state assembly and senate delegation to resurrect a past funding program. If approved, the region’s heavy highway construction industry will rise again. Back in 1993, New York State Senator Norman J. Levy, the powerful and tenacious chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, would not approve the state budget unless it included what was dubbed the Suburban Highway Improvement Program (SHIPs). The late senator insisted on specific funding over four years (then $12.5 million annually) to compensate for the neglect in appropriations to maintain the region’s highway network.

Today, the Nassau-Suffolk region finds itself in a very similar situation. We call upon our current legislative official to restore Senator Levy’s funding program. It is time to rise from the ashes. Since 2013, the percentage of our region’s roads with pavement ratings in “fair to poor” condition has increased from 14% to 40%. This dramatic decrease in roadway conditions should be no surprise, as another Levy program—his transportation capital program regional funding formula—was abandoned. Levy’s formula-driven funding splits were based on the direct inputs to road and bridge wear and tear, each region’s total number of registered motor vehicles, and road lane-miles.

Nassau and Suffolk are the only two counties among the state’s 62 with more than one million registered vehicles. In addition, Suffolk and Nassau ranked first and third, respectively, with the highest highway lane-miles. Adding insult to injury, according to DOT’s Green Book, only 6.55% of the state’s planned projects lettings in the current 12-month cycle of the adopted 5-year capital program are slated for the Nassau-Suffolk region (DOT Region 10). We find ourselves with roads in worsening condition coupled with an historic lack of funding.

Our dear legislators need our SHIPs funding to compensate for the gross negligence in our region’s transportation allocation. Support SHIPs so Long Island’s roads may rise from the ashes.