City of Rochester
News Release
(May 8, 2009) - Mayor Robert J. Duffy announced today that the City’s first tier one project related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has been authorized for letting. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law by President Obama in Feb., 2009 and shortly thereafter, City Council adopted legislation on a variety of federal stimulus programs. Over the last two months, City departments have been working diligently to identify projects that create or retain jobs and improve the city’s infrastructure.
“We have a phenomenal group of engineering and environmental services staff,” said Mayor Duffy. “Their ability to quickly guide these projects through complex regulations and procedures is a benefit to the entire community for generations. We are extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful professional technical staff.”
Processes which typically take one to three years to complete were streamlined and expedited in three months. The City mobilized its efforts through collaborations with the Genesee Transportation Council, Labella Associates and the New York State Department of Transportation.
The first stimulus initiative for Rochester will be repair and maintenance work on eight bridges. Federal highway and bridge funds were dispersed in March with a goal of obligating 50% of these funds within 120 days. The $1.5 million project involves preventative maintenance repairs to bridge curbs and sidewalks, as well as painting, restoration of substructure components, improvements to decks and approach surfaces and lighting upgrades. Advertisements for bids on this project went out Monday.
The deployment of the federal stimulus funds has the potential to benefit the economy of the entire region, creating an estimated 382 jobs for these transportation projects. The funds will be leveraged by the City’s capital improvement program and overall, the stimulus will create a positive impact on City operations and services.
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News Media: For more information, contact James McIntosh, City Engineer at 428-6828.