County Executive Robert P. Astorino has asked the Board of Legislators to approve the bonding for $58 million of capital projects that would restore important infrastructure and protect public safety, while creating about 550 jobs in construction.     

 The approval requests, sent on an ongoing basis since Jan. 1, include about $26 million for 15 new projects and about $32.3 million in other projects that the legislators failed to act on in 2011. Collectively, they focus on bridges and roads, county parks and county buildings.

"Each of these projects is a priority," said Astorino. "They involve work in all parts of the county, north and south, east and west. I urge the Board of Legislators to act promptly. These projects will create about 550 jobs that will boost our local economy and address critical infrastructure needs that will protect the safety and well-being of our residents."

The 15 new projects involve infrastructure improvements to various county buildings, roads and bridges in properties in Tuckahoe, White Plains, Valhalla, Yonkers, New Rochelle, Harrison, Rye and Peekskill, among others. These include:

• $2.96 million to replace the existing bridge, built in 1932, on the northbound access ramp of the Bronx River Parkway at Elm Street, Tuckahoe. The bridge is 50 feet long and 45 feet wide, for a total area of 2,270 square feet. Its replacement will be a precast concrete arch system with stone-faced headwalls and parapets.
• $3.26 million for a new electrical system at the Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla. The work focuses on improving the lighting and power systems as well as adding security cameras. The park draws an estimated 200,000 people annually.
• $2.43 million to rehabilitate almost two miles of roadway from Harrison Avenue to Boston Post Road (North Street) and from North Street to Theodore Fremd Avenue (Hammond Road) in Harrison and Rye. The road draws 7,600 motorists daily and is in need of corrective maintenance.
• $830,000 to rehabilitate almost one mile of roadway from White Plains Road to Wilmot Road in Eastchester and New Rochelle. The road has a daily traffic count of about 14,700 and is in need of repairs.

The other $32.3 million in projects that have been resubmitted to the Board of Legislators range from large-scale initiatives, such as $9.7 million for work on Warburton Avenue over Factory Lane in Hastings and $2.38 million for work on Palmer Road over Bronx River in Yonkers and Bronxville, to much smaller ones, such as $325,000 for infrastructure improvements at the Ridge Road Park in Greenburgh. Other projects also include infrastructure improvements at county parks (paths, trailways and golf courses).