As we begin the 21st Century, New York State faces a pressing need to modernize and expand its transportation infrastructure in order to sustain its global economic leadership. The ever-growing need for personal mobility, the need to move increasingly greater amounts of freight, and the pressures of 21st Century economic competition all call for new and different types of capacity on our roads, our public transit systems, our rails, at our ports and the intermodal connections that link these together. Nothing is too daunting for New Yorkers; we have the capacity to grow, productively, into this exciting Century. But, and this is the but that drives this conference, these projects will require significant resources. The traditional ways of funding infrastructure projects – out of general revenues, or by the issuance of debt – are inadequate to meet these needs. The State that has provided the marvelous subway system of New York City, the magnificent George Washington Bridge, and the “pay for itself” New York Thruway must put its entrepreneurial skills to work as it builds a new generation of transportation and engineering marvels.