Build on Long Island's Transportation Improvement Program win

This month, Long Island achieved an important victory: ensuring that critical projects including addressing the terrible Oakdale Merge and the interchange of the Southern State and Meadowbrook Parkways were included in the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council's Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). The inclusion of these projects sends a clear message to the federal government that Long Island's critical infrastructure needs are important. But just as importantly, they also represent something else: the power of a ground-up approach, where local voices and local leadership worked together to secure a win for the people of Long Island.

This success was not handed down from above, and in fact was initially resisted. The first draft of the NYMTC proposal lacked critical projects for our community. Ensuring that it was successfully amended was the product of persistence, coordination and engagement.

Elected officials are the local level who were at the heart of this effort. They live every day with the realities of our strained roadways, overburdened corridors and aging bridges. They brought their firsthand knowledge of where investment was needed most and worked tirelessly to ensure that their communities were heard in the planning and advocacy process. Their voices were amplified by strong leadership from Long Island's county executives, most notably Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, whose advocacy and partnership were indispensable in securing final support from Albany.

For those of us who have long pressed for a better deal for Long Island's infrastructure, this moment is deeply meaningful. It proves that when we work together — municipal leaders, county executives, labor leaders and business groups — we can deliver meaningful results. But it also proves something else: the process is not designed to make public input or local advocacy easy. In fact, it is meant to dismiss Long Island's voices altogether. Too often, the mechanisms by which major infrastructure and transportation decisions are made are intentionally opaque and difficult to navigate. For everyday citizens, and even for local officials, the path to influencing billion-dollar plans is unclear and frustrating. It is designed to frustrate stakeholders to ultimately give in to the bureaucratic status quo.

That is why this victory must be seen as a first step, not the endgame. If we are to truly secure the infrastructure future that Long Island deserves, we must continue to demand a seat at the table — and we must insist that the planning process itself be more accessible and responsive to the needs of our region.

The stakes could not be higher. This coming year, the state will release its next five-year capital plan for the Department of Transportation. This plan will shape the direction of transportation investment across New York for years to come. If Long Island is to receive its fair share, and if our unique challenges are to be properly addressed, then we cannot allow local officials to take their eyes off the ball.

The addition of these TIP projects was a victory worth celebrating and provides a great blueprint we must be prepared to follow again. It is up to all of us — residents, officials, business leaders and advocates — to become watchdogs to ensure that Long Island's infrastructure needs remain front and center in Albany. The future of Long Island's roads, bridges and economy depend on what we do next.

Marc Herbst is the executive director of the Long Island Contractors' Association.