New York State is hoping to use more than $100 million in federal stimulus money to replace the rustic-looking guardrails in the Hudson Valley and beyond, which have prematurely deteriorated.

The state Department of Transportation has requested $121 million in federal dollars to install new guardrails in place of the rusty ones.

Standard galvanized steel guardrails usually last more than 40 years. Rustic rails were also supposed to last that long. However, the material, which was supposed to corrode on the outside but not on the inside, did not meet expectations.

DOT Regional Director Joan Dupont stops short of calling the rustic rails a waste of money, saying that at the time, information about the quality of the material was convincing.

According to Dupont, the new guardrails will be made of galvanized steel, which will be treated to look weathered.

The state expects to have all the rustic rails replaced over the next 10 years. New guardrails will be installed in some sections of the Palisades Parkway within two years.