Skip to Main Content
NYS Thruway Authority Home
SHARE

For Immediate Release: 12/28/21   
Contact: Office of Media Relations and Communications | (518) 471-5300 | public.info@thruway.ny.gov     

THRUWAY AUTHORITY ANNOUNCES A TOTAL OF $317 MILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS MADE ON THRUWAY SYSTEM IN 2021
Investments Demonstrate Commitment to Modernizing the 570-Mile System While Providing High Level of Safety and Reliability
Additional Projects Completed in 2021 Include System-wide Cashless Tolling and $135 Million ‘Last Mile’ I-95 Reconstruction Project
$397.3 Million in New Capital Projects Included in Thruway’s 2022 Budget

The New York State Thruway Authority today announced a total of $317 million in infrastructure investments were made on the Thruway’s 570-mile system in 2021. Investments continued the Authority’s commitment to modernizing the nearly 70-year-old Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway system and focused on providing a high level of maintenance, safety, and reliability that our customers have come to expect.

Built in the early 1950s, the New York State Thruway is one of the oldest components of the National Interstate Highway System and one of the longest toll roads in the nation. Approximately 280 million vehicles travel the Thruway each year, accounting for more than 8.4 billion miles traveled.

“The hundreds of millions of dollars in annual capital investments that we make in our system each year are funded by toll revenues, including nearly a third from out of state drivers,” Thruway Authority Executive Director Matthew J. Driscoll said. “We have continued to respond and adjust to challenges shaped by the pandemic and remain laser focused on spending every one of those dollars wisely in making repairs, improvements and changes where and when they are needed most.”

Nearly all of Thruway Authority’s 2021 Capital Program was reinvested into the Thruway’s 570-mile superhighway and its more than 800 bridges including the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. It also includes more than $188.3 million for equipment to support maintenance and operations.

In all, the 2021 Capital Program included:

  • 67 lane miles reconstructed or resurfaced
  • 42 bridges reconstructed or rehabilitated
    • 9 New/Reconstructed (6 complete, 3 in construction)
    • 33 Rehabilitated (28 completed, 5 in construction)
  • 83 lane miles of roadside safety upgrades
  • 52 Interchanges modified/upgraded (as a result of cashless tolling)
  • 31 new dump trucks for construction and plowing operations
  • 27 Medium duty Trucks for construction and plowing operations

2021 BY DIVISION
New York Division
The Thruway Authority invested $45.4 million into the New York Division as part of the 2021 Capital Program. This included two contracts totaling more than $27 million in pavement resurfacing and highway improvements on the New England Thruway (I-95). In addition, the multi-year $135 million infrastructure improvement project on a section of I-95 in Westchester County known as the "Last Mile" was completed. The project began in 2018.

Albany Division
The Thruway Authority invested $72.5 million into the Albany Division as part of the 2021 Capital Program. This includes the $47.6 million bridge deck replacement and rehabilitation project on the Castleton-On-Hudson Bridge, which began in 2021. The project includes the complete deck replacement of the westbound travel lanes and deck repairs and asphalt overlay to eastbound travel lanes, as well as bridge steel repairs and other safety enhancements. The project is scheduled to be substantially completed by the end of 2022.

Syracuse Division
The Thruway Authority invested $104.9 million into the Syracuse Division as part of the 2021 Capital Program. This includes an $84.2 million capital improvement project that will lead to the replacement or rehabilitation of three bridges and the repavement of more than 20 lane miles on the Thruway (I-90) between exit 37 (Electronics Pkwy) and exit 39 (Syracuse – I-690).

Buffalo Division
The Thruway Authority invested $27.9 million into the Buffalo Division as part of the 2021 Capital Program. This includes the $19.5 million pavement rehabilitation project on the New York State Thruway (I-90) eastbound in Chautauqua County that began in July 2020. The work is taking place on a 13-mile stretch from the Pennsylvania state line to just beyond exit 60 at milepost 483 east of Westfield. Additionally, the 2022 proposed Capital Program includes more than $106.6 million in capital improvement projects, including an estimated $36 million investment for repairs and safety enhancements to the North and South Grand Island Bridges.

The Thruway Authority’s approved 2022 Budget invests a total of $397 million to support the Capital Program of the Thruway Authority. In addition, over the next five years (2022-2026), the Thruway’s Capital Program is scheduled to invest $1.9 billion into capital projects. This includes $1.65 billion for system-wide projects on the Thruway.

###

Download the NYS Thruway Authority mobile app which includes live traffic cameras, real-time, Thruway-specific traffic and navigation assistance, Thruway Service Area locator, toll calculator, roadside assistance and more. Download the free app to your iPhone and Android devices TODAY!

Motorists can sign up for TRANSAlert emails regarding Thruway traffic conditions at https://wwwapps.thruway.ny.gov/tas/.

Follow us on Twitter @ThruwayTraffic and @NYSThruway

Like us on Facebook at NYS Thruway Authority