Politics & Government

Route 22 Project: Lane Closures Start

The project completion date is listed as December of this year.

The realignment of the intersection at Milltown Road and Route 22 in Southeast is underway, and lane closures have arrived, officials say.

With a completion date of December 2013, the project is aimed at improving that section—which the New York State Department of Transportation calls "highly congested"—of Route 22. The focus is cutting down on traffic and improving safety.

"This will be accomplished by a minor realignment of the Route 22/Milltown Road intersection and pavement widening to provide auxiliary lanes north and south of the intersection," the DOT states on the project page. "Milltown Road will also be modified to have a double left turn, allowing more cars to turn onto Route 22."

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Travelers should expect "intermittent alternating lane closures from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily," Beau Duffy, a public information officer for the DOT, said. Shoulder closures will always be in place from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, but it's unlikely those will "impede the flow of traffic," Duffy added.

No weekend work is expected at this time, according to the DOT.

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Stretching from 1,000 feet south of the intersection to 1,000 feet north, this project—which could, unlike the Route 22/Route 312 project, call for some right-of-way acquisitions—is considered an "interim improvement project" by officials. 

State Sen. Greg Ball (R, C — Patterson) is pleased with the progress. He's reminding folks to "be patient and understanding" as the work occurs.

“Working with local partners, and after years of inaction, we were able to deliver the first phased expansion of Route 22 to ease the flow of traffic," Ball said. "Getting that done was a huge improvement, but the expansion must continue. This next phase is intended to remove the current bottleneck now occurring further south and can't happen soon enough. As someone who sits in this traffic daily, the project is welcomed and is desperately needed for the residents of Brewster and for those that travel Route 22."

Congestion issues on Route 22 have been ongoing for years, as evident by this Town of Southeast document, listing information from 1996 to 2007.


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