It's no surprise our infrastructure needs repair, but as News 12 found out, there's plenty of money to fix those problems that is not being spent.

The findings of a study commissioned by the Construction Industry Council and Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress were revealed Tuesday afternoon.

Possibly its biggest finding is that millions of dollars available on a federal and state level for infrastructure projects in Hudson Valley have gone untapped and unspent.

"In 2017, the water infrastructure act committed $2.5 billion towards water spending statewide, and since, that number has gone up to about $4 billion. As of March of 2020, only 11% have been spent," says Eric Pierson, senior research planner of the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. 

"The Hudson Valley Infrastructure Gap" also found municipal spending on infrastructure is essentially flat, says Pierson. Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress says the money left on the table is due to a disconnect.

"Indicates that the government's model for getting the money from being allocated to actually working in our communities is broken and is something that our lawmakers and policy makers really need to take a fresh look at," says Adam Bosch, CEO of the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. 

A list of recommendations includes starting projects quickly and considering outsourcing work to private contractors when it's safe, efficient and effective.

The New York state Department of Transportation tells News 12 that it has received the findings of the study and will review them.