Wurtsboro, NY – A combination of high volume and road construction brought Route 17 over Wurtsboro Mountain to a standstill late Monday afternoon.
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The three-day Memorial Day weekend brought New York metro area residents to the Hudson Valley and Catskills and it seemed like they all tried to return home at the same time Monday.
Traffic eastbound from just below the Wurtsboro exit 119 all the way to Middletown was at a crawl.
A combination of high volume and construction, which brought flow to a single lane north of Middletown, made for a traffic nightmare.
Traffic volume was also high on the southbound Thruway between New Paltz and Harriman on Monday afternoon.
Any alternate routes would be greatly appreciated.
This is going to be a major headache this summer. I left Monticello yesterday at 6:00 PM and Finally got to exit 119 at 7:30. It was standstill just after exit115.
I sat in traffic for 45min, got off at exit 116, took Gosen Tpk. I was back on the 17 in no time…..the remainder of my trip was an Hour and a half.
Cant wait to do this EVERY Sunday evening,. LOL
A Gezunta Zimmer
How about posting the detours around this jam like last year? Yasher Koach.
We are all in again this summer:( same like last year!!!
Doing the trip every weekend is crazy. It wastes time and gas and creates horrible pollution and is a real problem for the residents of Orange County who are caught in the middle – they get the traffic, but not the economic benefit. Why not take a two week vacation in the catskills and spend the rest of the summer in ny, or just move to the catskills year round. Do you really want to keep supporting terrorism and your enemies by burning more gas than needed?
its very funny over the winter there was no construction now as summer approaches construction begins again
what the heck is wrong with the municipalities upstate? why do they do this everywhere? whats taking them so long, i cant remember when the last time there was NO construction during the Summer!!!! where is Sheldon Silver, he travels upstate all the time, doesnt this bother him?
Figured out how to bypass this mess. Go to Pennsylvania down to Maryland hang left come up North through Delaware stay on 295 to Exit 7 on NJ Turnpike and pull right in to Staten island via Outerbridge Crossing. Do I hear anyone with a shorter route home from the mountains?
The reason it is not done over the winter + months is becasue you can’t do any of this in cold weather. That being said, it still is difficult for all of those who are doing this trip on a weekly basis over the summer. Our complaing will not help. What will help is if we share alternate routes and ideas on how to get around this area.
Take along some good shiurim on tape and learn while you wait in traffic. Once you get there, its not clear much learning gets done. Same for the yinglach in the back of the van. Bring some good learning videos for them to watch or maybe even invite one of the rebbeeimn from the yeshiva to drive up with you and do some teaching in the van on the way up.
Surprise also in the middle of Monticello, Broadway and 42–seems like they took the entire Winter off and just started to work on the same repaving project as last summer. Considering the Mayor of Monticello was charged with selling counterfeit Reeboks–it’s no surprise.
The detours worked fine last year . i just forgot what they were. somebody please post them
So don’t tempt fate by leaving to the country on Friday afternoons. Otherwise you will be mechalal Shabbos.
how about carpooling too? we see so many cars with just one person in it all heading the same way.
if we had 3 or 4 people in teh car all going to the same area it would alleviate traffic as well.
Why hasn’t anyone come up with the idea of telecommuting from the mountains.
I know some friends who have been doing this a few years already and are very happy. They do their year-round job from the country and are up there with their families for the entire time. Sounds like a great idea if it can be worked out.
Remember going up to the mountains on Old 17 before the Quickway? It took 3 hours from New York. I guess now the Quickway is also outdated.
are there any flights available frm brooklyn to catskills and vice versa?
Same as last summer, just older with one year..
How about the bus. You can charter a bus for 650 dollars it comes to 12 dollars a person.
Heard from a long haul trucker once: “There are two seasons on the highway; Winter, and Construction” You cannot fix the roads in winter. Nothing they can do.
Now to the detour. It works every time. Travel time is about 2.5 Hrs.
From Monticello:
Take 42 South for about 19 miles.
Hang a left onto RT 97
Drive through Port Jervis, and follow signs for 209.
Take the 209 South until Milford.
In Milford hook a left onto 206 South.
206 south turns into the 15.
Take the 15 south until I-80
You’ll be getting onto the I-80 at NJ Exit 35.
Head east on I-80.
For the Holland Tunnel – take Exit 47A (left exit) to 280>17a> and follow sings to the Holland tunnel
For the Lincoln Tunnel – stay on I-80 until exit 53 (right exit). Take Exit 53 for RT 46, and follow signs for RT 3 which will take you straight to the 495 Helix and into the Tunnel
For the GWB (not advised), stay on RT 80 East until the end (80/95).
Have a safe summer!
P.S. There is a gas station at RT 206 and RT 15. Decent restrooms.