Weekday westbound traffic on Route 17,
near Harriman
HARRIMAN – The highway network connection in Harriman between Route 17, the Thruway and Route 32 can be a traffic nightmare at times with the shopping centers, commuter traffic and just plain volume of vehicles.
A plan has been on the books for a number of years to reconfigure that interchange to make for better traffic flow. With more retail in the Woodbury area and the casino coming to Sullivan County, the state Department of Transportation Wednesday night wanted to hear from the public what they have to say about the project.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus is all for it, the sooner the better, even though it comes with a hefty price tag of some $60 million to $70 million.
“At the end of the day, the amount of commerce that comes through that corridor pays for it 10 times over,” Neuhaus said. “The amount of traffic coming up from New York City to shop at Woodbury Common, the amount of traffic that is going to come up to enjoy all the spoils of the new casino in Sullivan County, is all going to pay for itself. So the best thing we could do is to accommodate it to make it a very free-flowing experience and people want to make a return visit and not get stuck in log jams of traffic.”.
On weekends and holidays, shopping traffic can back up for miles in that area.
