Included is $1.2 million to resurface a portion of Route 31F from Route 250 (Main Street) in the village of Fairport to the Wayne County line in the town of Perinton. The top layer of worn, deteriorated pavement will be removed and replaced with new asphalt and fresh pavement markings. Needed drainage cleaning and repairs to improve the quality of storm-water runoff also will be provided. 

Another $1 million is to resurface a portion of Route 96 from Kreag Road in the town of Perinton to Route 64 in the town of Pittsford. That also calls for replacing the top layer of pavement and making drainage improvements.

Both projects are expected to begin this summer and be completed this fall.

“We’re happy to have road improvements made in our town and pleased to see some of the infrastructure funding benefiting our residents,” said Perinton Town Supervisor Jim Smith. “They’re both projects that we certainly are anxious to see done. Essentially, I think the stimulus money moves those projects so they’re done sooner than they otherwise would have been done and that’s a good thing.”

Paterson called the funding critical and said it will go toward much-needed highway and road repairs, work on bridges and other long-term improvements to the region’s infrastructure.

In a prepared statement, Paterson said the latest certification brings the total to $34.9 million in ARRA funds so far obligated to the Rochester area. He said the $12.9 million in Rochester projects will create an estimated 309 jobs.

“Creating jobs and strengthening our infrastructure are two of the critical reasons why I voted for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” wrote U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, D-Corning, Steuben County, in a statement. “This investment is part of the overall plan to create and protect 7,500 jobs in New York’s 29th Congressional District and I am proud to help deliver these funds.”

Paterson announced in April that the state Department of Transportation will award $82 million in highway and bridge contracts this fiscal year and that Rochester will receive approximately $29 million in Consolidated Highway Improvement Program funding. Overall, Rochester area communities will receive more than $185 million in highway and bridge funding in state fiscal year 2009-10.

“My number one priority is to put Western New York back to work,” said Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport. “That means we have to keep our infrastructure working so that we can keep residents working. These critical recovery dollars will not only create jobs but invest in our infrastructure and economy.”

Assemblyman David Koon, D-Perinton, said the additional federal funding to improve Rochester’s transportation infrastructure will be critical not only in ensuring the safety of travelers on Rochester’s roads, but also by establishing essential jobs that will give residents an opportunity to find work in the current job market which he called “daunting.”

“These federal funds take us a step closer to bringing Rochester and the state back to economic health,” Koon said.

New York is expected to receive approximately $26.7 billion in federal stimulus funding over two years, which the White House estimates will create or retain 215,000 jobs, according to Paterson’s release.

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