ALBANY, NY (WENY)--Thursday, the Biden-Harris administration announced $21 million in infrastructure funding to restore the Castleton bridge in Albany county as part of the Bridge Investment Program. 

Gov. Kathy Hochul said it's important for the State of New York to have federal support for bridge and transportation infrastructure projects. 

“One thing that’s so important is to make sure that this state has 21st century infrastructure. For far too long these priorities were neglected. The federal government under previous administration did not focus on this,” Hochul said. 

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said the bridge investment program will have economic and safety impacts for rural counties in New York. 

“When you look at what it takes to connect people to Albany County to points East, all of that depends on a lot of places that can become a single point of failure. And I would add to that, the good paying jobs--good paying union jobs associated with so much of this construction is going to benefit people too,” said Secretary Buttigieg. 

United States Representatives Paul Tonko (D-20th Congressional District in New York) said the federal dollars will help state's like New York facilitate the infrastructure needs of their communities. 

“We need to invest in our bridges, but if it’s not done at the federal level, it percolates down to the state, the state is more burdened,” said Congressman Tonko.