NY’s infrastructure is just a jobs/graft source for the relevant insiders. The structures’ importance to the non-insiders is only relevant insofar as that can be used to squeeze more funds from the taxbase.
That has been the problem with any government funded project. Consultants first get a hold of the project in the initial stages, and do all of these “conceptual studies”. Now any engineering project should start at such a stage, but then either proceeds to further detail, or a no go decision. When it’s in the government sector though, it rarely seems to get out the the “conceptual design” stage, and gets stuck in an endless circle of mind-numbing Power Point presentations. And the government lets the contractors get away with it. This would not be allowed in the private sector. Ideally the goverment should adapt some project management principles and procedures from the private sector (my experience in more in chem plant/refineries), but that might result in people having to work and thus getting there feelings hurt. What I have seen of design-build in the public sector however seems to work - an example being the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. Highway construction however in Minnesota seems to go quickly due to the short construction season (I just said something good about Minnesota!).