A new bill could ensure that Syracuse residents are first to benefit from federally funded infrastructure projects.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is pushing for the Build Local Hire Local Act. Gillibrand says conversations over the I-81 viaduct helped inspire the bill. If passed it would require 50-percent of local construction project jobs to include minorities and local residents.

The bill also includes job training programs and apprenticeships to ensure people can continue to work after construction wraps up.

"I want to make sure that when our federal government looks at our infrastructure it rebuilds and repairs all our communities." said Gillibrand "It's why the community grid model is so important, it incorporates the needs of communities in Syracuse with special attention given to those who have been historically marginalized."

Gillibrand believes the bill will pass before construction on I-81 begins.