Aerial view of current Route 17 Exit 131 in Harriman
. Woodbury-Common, lower left
is frequently packed on weekends, and just about anytime now through Christmas
HARRIMAN – Mid-Hudson commuters can look forward to some sustained relief from traffic backups at the Thruway/Route 17/Route 32 interchange in Woodbury soon, after years of traffic issues plaguing the area around the Woodbury Common outlet mall.
Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday a $150 million, multi-faceted highway project that will be part of a larger $100 billion construction initiative being launched across the state – the largest construction project in the nation by cost, he maintained.
Cuomo said the Woodbury segment of the construction initiative is just a small part of a statewide infrastructure overhaul that will, ultimately, change the face of New York commuting and bring it into the future.
“As a citizen, as a parent, as a union member, God gives you a certain amount of time on earth. It seems like it gets shorter and shorter every day; use that time to leave a better place for your children, so at the end of the day you can say, I made this state a better state and my children are inheriting a New York that is stronger and cleaner and sweeter and fairer and stronger than the New York I grew up in,” the governor said.
Although the entirety of the initiative calls for the redevelopment of
every major airport (less Stewart) in the state and things like cashless
tolling, the highlights of the Woodbury project include a diverging diamond
interchange at the Route17/Route32 interchange, replacement of the Route
32 bridge, a new underpass below Route 32, a new southern entrance to
Woodbury Common, a bicycle/pedestrian safety-access corridor, a new road
connecting the Monroe/Woodbury Middle School to the high school and a
200-space parking lot with solar powered bus shelters, as well as electric
car charge stations.
This project is expected to reduce traffic backup by 50 percent and is estimated to save commuters 200 minutes annually.
Work on the design-build project is expected to start as early as next year.
State Senator William Larkin and Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther praised Cuomo for moving the project forward.
Orange County Executive Steven Neuhaus said the project “has lingered and been studied long enough.” He said the construction “will not only ease historic congestion issues, but will also allow us to continue to market this economically vital corridor for future planned growth and sustainable development.”
