Travel
Summer construction is here: Which Hudson Valley Thruway projects could disrupt travel?
The weather is getting warmer, which means more time outdoors, days at the beach and, you guessed it, road construction.
The New York State Thruway has a slate of projects scheduled this summer that could disrupt your daily commute or interfere with your weekend plans.
Here’s what to look out for as you’re cruising around downstate New York and the Albany region this summer.
Tarrytown: Major construction for pedestrian-bicycle bridge
On May 29, work begins on a 270-foot-long pedestrian/bicycle bridge in Tarrytown that will extend the side path off the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo bridge a mile south to Lyndhurst Mansion.
The six-week project will cause daytime lane reductions on Route 9 (South Broadway) near Route 119 and Paulding Avenue, concluding with a new bridge over the Thruway (I-87/I-287).
It’s part of a two-year, $13.9 million project backed by the Thruway and the state Department of Transportation.
In addition to the bridge, workers will add a second left turn lane from South Broadway to the southbound Thruway entrance ramp as well as a traffic signal on Route 9 at Paulding Avenue.
Construction crews will begin assembling and staging equipment and materials along Route 9 the evening of May 28. New traffic patterns will be set up north of Route 199 past Paulding Avenue.
The following day four lanes — two in each direction — will open along Route 9, a traffic pattern that will continue around the clock until June 3 when workers will follow a 3 p.m.-to-9:30 a.m. schedule weekdays and all-day on weekends through the middle of July.
Starting June 3, Route 9 near Route 119 and Paulding Avenue will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Beyond work hours, four lanes will be open — two in each direction. Pedestrians can cross Route 9 through the work zone on the east side.
“Motorists should give themselves extra time as they may encounter delays in the area,” Thruway officials say.
The speed limit in the area will be reduced to 25 mph.
The relocation of Tarrytown’s water main onto the Route 9 vehicle bridge as well as repairing and resurfacing work will be completed in the late summer and early fall.
When finished, the Cuomo Bridge side path will extend a mile south from the Westchester Landing at 333 South Broadway in Tarrytown to the Lyndhurst Mansion, where pedestrians and cyclists can connect with the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail.
Since its opening in 2020, the 3.6-mile bridge path has tallied more than 650,000 visitors.
Orange County: Part of Thruway to be removed, repaired
In Orange County, Thruway workers begin a $36.6 million project to remove and repair a 12-mile stretch of roadway between Woodbury and Newburgh.
The work will start north of exit 16 in Woodbury (milepost 48) and end at exit 17 in Newburgh (milepost 60.1), a section traveled by 53,000 vehicles a day.
New guiderails and reflective line striping will be added.
Paving operations will take place overnight on weekdays to limit the impact on traffic through the end of the year. Periodic lane closures may occur while construction is taking place.
Funding for the project comes out of $451 million the Thruway allocated in its 2024 budget to support capital projects.
Some 85% of Thruway roadway dates to the 1950s when the Thruway, which turns 70 this year, opened to traffic. Over the next five years, the Thruway is slated to invest $2.4 billion to repair more than half of its 2,800 lane miles as well as 90 of its 817 bridges.
Projects: NY has plans to fix a slate of major roads in 2024. Which ones will get an upgrade?
Some $337.4 million of that is being invested in Hudson Valley projects.
“New York State is committed to rehabilitating aging infrastructure in tourism and commuter corridors,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said. “This project will make critical safety improvements to I-87 in Orange County, provide a safer driving experience for the millions of New Yorkers who drive on the Thruway every year, and modernize the state’s transportation infrastructure.”
Nearly three quarters of the Thruway’s bridges are more than 60 years old.
Bridge: Tappan Zee Bridge deck components will become part of two upstate spans
Ulster, Greene counties: Lane closures coming with Thruway repairs
Workers will repair roadway along a 15.5-mile stretch of the Thruway between exits 19 (milepost 93.8) and 20 (milepost 109.3).
Deteriorated pavement will be removed and replaced along northbound and southbound lanes. Repairs will also be made to the parking area at milepost 103.1, which includes the Malden Thruway Service Area. A U-turn at milepost 98 will be relocated.
The $21.3 million project began in March and is expected to be completed in the fall.
Some 40,000 motorists travel along the stretch of roadway each day. Expect periodic lane closures.
Drunk Driving: Drunken driving deaths surging in NY. Should state lower limit for drunken driving to .05?
Albany, Schenectady counties: Thruway road, bridge repairs
Repairs along 40 miles of roadway between exits 25 and 26 began in April and continues through the spring of next year.
The $19 million project includes roadway and overpass repairs between mileposts 153.78 and 161.3. A U-turn at milepost 158 will be upgraded and the exit 25A bridge over I-90 will be repaired.
There will be periodic lane closures in the area.