NY Capital Must Prepare for Transportation Changes

The New York state Capital Region needs to prepare for revolutionary changes in transportation technology while also concentrating on the costly business of rehabilitating or replacing aging highways and other infrastructure, according to a newly drafted 30-year regional transportation spending plan. The technological changes in coming years will include more widespread adoption of electric and self-driving vehicles and more use of shared cars, bicycles and e-scooters -- and planners need to consider what those changes mean, according to the draft New Visions 2050 report released by the Capital District Transportation Committee. At the same time, keeping up with maintaining and replacing aging roads and bridges ideally will require around $300 million more per year than the region has been spending in transportation infrastructure, the report finds.