Albany's leaders made sure in the 2009-2010 New York State budget they enacted last April to include a massive, multi-billion-dollar bailout of the New York City-area Metropolitan Transportation Association.

Great news for downstate transit in these tough economic times, but many upstate legislators, including myself, were left with a very simple and straightforward concern: What about funding for upstate New York’s transportation infrastructure? 

We were told, essentially, not to worry, that upstate’s roads and bridges would be taken care of somewhere down the road.  More than a few legislative pundits remarked that it was like being told the “check’s in the mail.”

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