§ 10-D — Statewide preventive maintenance plan for highways and bridges

§ 10-d. Statewide preventive maintenance plan for highways and\nbridges. 1. Definitions. For the purposes of this section, unless the\ncontext or subject matter otherwise requires:\n (a) "Preventive maintenance" shall mean planned activities undertaken\nby the commissioner to reduce or arrest the rate of deterioration of\nstate highways and bridges, or to maintain such highways and bridges in\na state of good repair. These activities may correct minor defects as a\nsecondary benefit.\n (b) "Pavement management system" shall mean a system to assist in\ndetermining the optimum strategy to preserve state pavements in a safe\nand serviceable condition at the lowest feasible total capital and\nmaintenance cost over the useful life of such pavement. Such system\nshall conform with or exceed federal requirements and shall include an\nannual survey of state highway pavement conditions.\n (c) "Bridge management system" shall mean a system to assist in\ndetermining the optimum strategy to preserve state bridges in a safe and\nserviceable condition at the lowest feasible total capital and\nmaintenance cost over the useful life of such bridges. Such system shall\nconform with or exceed federal requirements and shall include an\ninspection of state bridges in accordance with section two hundred\nthirty-two of this chapter.\n 2. Statewide preventive maintenance plan. Every year the commissioner\nshall develop a five-year plan for the preventive maintenance of state\nhighways and bridges. The plan shall be submitted to the governor and\nthe chairs of the senate finance committee and the assembly ways and\nmeans committee at the time the department submits its annual budget\nrequest, but no later than December thirty-first of each year. The plan\nshall:\n (a) describe the current condition of state highways, by setting forth\nthe number of lane miles in each highway condition level in each\ndepartment of transportation residency and region based on an annual\npavement condition survey conducted pursuant to the department's\npavement management system;\n (b) describe the current condition of state bridges, by setting forth\nthe number of bridges in each bridge condition level in each department\nof transportation region based on an inspection of each bridge conducted\npursuant to the department's bridge management system and in accordance\nwith section two hundred thirty-two of this chapter;\n (c) establish goals for the condition of the state's highways and\nbridges for each of the next five fiscal years which can be achieved\nthrough an integrated program of capital investment and preventive\nmaintenance, set forth for each highway and bridge condition level in\neach department of transportation region;\n (d) describe the preventive maintenance activities and levels of\nfunding projected to be necessary to achieve the goals for the condition\nof the state's highways and bridges for each of the next five fiscal\nyears, set forth for each highway and bridge condition level in each\ndepartment of transportation region. Such description shall be developed\nutilizing the department's pavement management and bridge management\nsystems;\n (e) demonstrate the cost effectiveness of these preventive maintenance\nactivities and levels of funding through an analysis of the cost of\nalternative preventive maintenance techniques over the life cycle of\nstate highways and bridges consistent with the highway law life cycle\nrequirements;\n (f) summarize the preventive maintenance work which could occur if the\namounts requested for the next fiscal year pursuant to section\nfourteen-b of the state finance law are appropriated, set forth for each\nstate highway pavement condition level by department of transportation\nresidency, and for each state bridge condition level by department of\ntransportation region; and\n (g) commencing with the statewide preventive maintenance plan due no\nlater than December thirty-first, nineteen hundred ninety-five, provide\ninformation relative to the prior and current fiscal year's preventive\nmaintenance plan, including the extent to which goals relative to the\ncondition of state highways and bridges established pursuant to\nparagraph (c) of this subdivision have been achieved, set forth for each\nstate highway and bridge condition level by department of transportation\nregion.\n 3. Submission of the statewide preventive maintenance plan shall\nconstitute compliance with the requirements of subdivision (d) of\nsection fourteen-b and section twenty-six of the state finance law.\n 4. Incorporation of statewide preventive maintenance plan. The\nstatewide preventive maintenance plan developed pursuant to subdivision\ntwo of this section shall be incorporated into the department's capital\nprojects statement to be submitted to the governor pursuant to section\nfourteen-b of the state finance law, and shall be considered by the\ndivision of the budget prior to the submission of the budget pursuant to\nsection twenty-two of the state finance law.\n 5. Within nine months after the enactment of the budget for fiscal\nyear nineteen hundred ninety-three--ninety-four, the commissioner shall\nsubmit to the governor a summary of the preventive maintenance work\nwhich has been undertaken or is planned to be undertaken in such fiscal\nyear. Copies of such summary shall forthwith be furnished to the chairs\nof the senate finance committee and the assembly ways and means\ncommittee.\n 6. Independent program evaluation. The commissioner shall cause to be\nperformed once every five years an independent evaluation of the\npreventive maintenance of state highways and bridges. Such evaluation\nshall be conducted by a professional engineering firm expert in the\nfield of preventive maintenance and preventive maintenance planning. The\nfirst evaluation shall be submitted to the governor no later than\nOctober first, nineteen hundred ninety-five, and succeeding evaluations\nshall be submitted every five years thereafter. Such evaluation shall\ninclude but not be limited to:\n (a) an assessment of the adequacy of the preventive maintenance of\nstate highways and bridges;\n (b) an assessment of the adequacy of the department's pavement\nmanagement system and bridge management system and recommendations for\nimprovements to those systems;\n (c) recommendations for any improvements or technological advances in\nthe way in which the state should maintain state highways and bridges;\n (d) an assessment as to whether the level or allocation of funding for\nthe preventive maintenance of state highways and bridges is sufficient\nconsidering the goals for the condition of the state's highways and\nbridges for the next five fiscal years as set forth in the statewide\npreventive maintenance plan developed pursuant to subdivision two of\nthis section.\n 7. Liability provisions. No preventive maintenance plan or evaluation\nof such plan required by this section shall be admissible in any action\nor proceeding in which the state or any of its departments, agencies or\nauthorities, or any municipal corporation or other political\nsubdivision, or any officer or employee thereof, is a party, to prove\nthe existence of a particular defect or dangerous condition of a highway\nor bridge; nor shall the state or any of its departments, agencies or\nauthorities, or any municipal corporation or other political\nsubdivision, or any officer or employee thereof, be held liable for\ndamages as a result of a failure to comply with any preventive\nmaintenance plan required by this section or to take any action as a\nresult of an evaluation of such plan.\n