As noted again and again in MTR, New York State’s budget problems and an infrastructure in disrepair are threatening people’s livelihoods and perhaps even their lives. The latest case of these infrastructure afflictions took place in the Town of New Castle, which encompasses the hamlets of Millwood and Chappaqua in Westchester County.

New Castle’s Route 120 Bridge, which connects downtown Chappaqua to Route 120, was recognized by NYSDOT as one of downstate’s bridges most in need of repair, the New York Times‘ Joseph Berger wrote in 2008. Berger wrote that “A novice can see the steel arches rusting and the concrete casing chipping off the steel beams,” and noted that the question was whether the bridge should be replaced entirely or restored to its original 1930’s design. (New Castle and NYSDOT ultimately decided to replace the bridge, while keeping some of its charm, such as its iron railings.)

This April, the debate was no longer over what the finished bridge would look like, but whether it would be finished at all. Conti Group workers reconstructing the Route 120 Bridge walked off work after the State failed to pass either a budget for 2010-2011 or emergency funding for the project. The company was owed about $942,000 by the state. Although 80% of the bridge repair work is federally funded, the State must pay the contractor and be reimbursed by the federal government. State Assemblymember Robert Castelli noted in a press release that the empty job-site was “not only an eyesore, but a safety hazard.”

Although the State’s budget is yet to be finalized, Town Supervisor Barbara Gerrard, State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer and Assm. Castelli claim credit for getting a large portion of the money that was owed to the Conti Group last month. Construction resumed on June 21 and it is expected that the bridge work will be completed by the end of the year, a few months behind schedule. So cross one bridge off the state’s list of repair needs — but that list is growing faster than NYSDOT has funding to address.