With Nod To New York, Trump Promises To Fix Nation's Infrastructure
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- President Donald Trump promised Monday, to fix the nation's infrastructure.
The president called the nation's highways and bridges unsafe.
He also mentioned two of our local tunnels and talked about his worries while driving through them.
As CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported, President Trump may be hundreds of miles away at the White House, but New York is never far from his mind -- especially when it comes to driving conditions in his hometown.
"We have tunnels in New York where the tiles are on the ceiling and you see many tiles missing," he said.
Mr. Trump spoke at a gathering with the nation's governors.
He vowed to start spending big on infrastructure across the country, specifically calling out two of our popular crossings.
"Take a look at the Lincoln Tunnel and the Queens Midtown Tunnel, and you're driving and you see all this loose material that's heavy," he said, "I say to myself, every time I drive through I say, 'I wonder how many people are hurt or injured when they're driving at 40, 50 miles an hour through a tunnel and a tile falls off."
CBS2 drove through both tunnels on Monday, and saw numerous missing tiles on the ceilings of the Lincoln.
The Port Authority said in the last 12 months, there have been no reported incidents involving falling tiles.
"(The tiles) are intact, regularly inspected, and pose no danger to the public," the agency said.
Most drivers said they hadn't noticed it.
"Not on the Lincoln," Leo Maruri said.
"I don't go through there very often, but I've noticed that a little bit in the past," David Stern added.
However drivers have noticed missing tiles in the Midtown Tunnel, because an infrastructure project is underway to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Many drivers said they would welcome improvements.
President Trump is expected to talk more about infrastructure in his address to Congress on Tuesday night. His proposed budget is expected to be released in mid March.
