New York State Department of Transportation

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in the U.S. state of New York.This transportation network includes:

• A state and local highway system, encompassing over 110,000 miles (177,000 km) of highway and 17,000 bridges.
• A 5,000 mile (8,000 km) rail network, carrying over 42 million short tons (38 million metric tons) of equipment, raw materials, manufactured goods and produce each year.
• Over 130 public transit operators, serving over 5.2 million passengers each day.
• Twelve major public and private ports, handling more than 110 million short tons (100 million metric tons) of freight annually.
• 456 public and private aviation facilities, through which more than 31 million people travel each year. It owns two airports, Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, and Republic Airport on Long Island. Stewart is currently leased to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

History

The history of the New York State Department of Transportation and its predecessors spans over two centuries:

• In 1781, the Office of Surveyor General was reorganized from its colonial Dutch and English beginnings to survey lands that had been vested in the state during and following the Revolutionary war.
• In 1810, the Erie Canal Commission was established to build the Erie Canal, and afterwards the canal commissioners......
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