New York – The state Department of Transportation has canceled plans to study the potential widening of Route 17 in Orange and Sullivan counties because of budgetary constraints, according to a department spokeswoman. The agency had expected to hire a consultant to explore widening the highway from two lanes to three in each direction between Harriman and Monticello – a project that Sen. Charles Schumer has advocated since securing $1 million for such a study in 2005.
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But after soliciting proposals and choosing a consultant, state officials decided to table the $2.1 million study because too little state and federal funding exists for “capacity expansion” projects such as adding lanes to Route 17, spokeswoman Deborah Rausch said.
Read full story at Times Herald Record
Smart move. We don’t have the money to maintain the roads and bridges we have to avoid a major accident so we shouldn’t be wasting hundreds of millions of dollars to widen a road that gets busy eruv shabbos a few times a year. Whatever money the state has should be used to upgrade the existing system with bridges and overpasses as a priority. Saving a few minutes on the way to the bunglaow colonies and ski areas is not a priority. The lives at risk from antiquated bridges are.
If the traffic gets bad enough on Rt. 17, maybe more yidden would stay home during the summer and find opportunities to keep their children in school year around and avoid the bitul torah and family disruption that this crazay migration to the Catskills creates every summer. There are many great parks and beaches in the New York area and even good day camps for the yinglach. Time to rediscover New York City. BP and will are wonderful summer vacation spots.
#2 “BP and will are wonderful summer vacation spots.” Reading this, a mouthful of my mid-day coffee involuntarily and forcefully found its way from my mouth to the keyboard below…as a tear simultaneously formed in the corner of my eye.
So the future of havig new jewish communities in the catskills is at risk…
The cancellation of this so called study is correct….it would be near impossible to widen the road at certain points such as on the Wurtsboro hill in either direction. BTW what becomes of the $1 million Chuck Schumer secured for this waste of time?