Hundreds of people clad in bright orange shirts descended on the Capitol this week, calling on the legislature to fund local infrastructure improvement programs.

The Consolidated Local Street Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS), PAVE-NY, and Extreme Winter Recovery are just a few of the current programs in the state that help distribute state funds equally to cities for road and bridge improvements.

However, many of these programs have not seen funding increases in years.

"CHIPS is probably the fairest program we have in New York State," Sen. Tom O'Mara said at a rally. "The dollars are distributed per mile equally across the state ... It benefits everyone across the state."

Local roads make up almost 90 percent of all the roads throughout the state.

A report released by the state comptroller's office in 2017 showed that locally owned bridges alone need around $27.4 billion in repairs.

Lawmakers and highway superintendents are calling for more equality when it comes to funding upstate and downstate transportation needs. This year's executive budget lays out a five-year capital plan for the MTA, but only a two-year Department of Transportation Capital Plan.

In his executive budget, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed $275 billion for infrastructure projects.