MID-HUDSON – Work has begun on a draft environmental impact statement for the upgrade of New York-17, the highway that will eventually become Interstate 86.
The launch of the environmental review follows inclusion of up to $1 billion in the state capital plan to accelerate the conversion of the highway.
The study area goes from the Woodbury area at the interchange of Exit 131 where Route 17 meets the Thruway and Route 32 and continues beyond the Monticello area.
Orange County Partnership President Maureen Halahan, a major player in the upgrade planning, said those improvements have been needed for decades.
“Back in the ‘50s when we were still going past the Red Apple Rest (in Southfields) to try to get to the Catskills, nobody wanted 17, and now 17 is way overdue for upgrades. All of us need it. It’s the gateway to upstate New York and it’s in dire need of work,” she said.
When actual construction begins, it will be performed by members of Operating Engineers Local 825, said the union’s community affairs director Dan Ortega.
“The project will be a great opportunity for both counties and we are looking forward to seeking what the environmental impact study has to say and to begin construction as soon as all of the engineering gets done,” he said.
Ortega gave much of the credit for the highway project to State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall). “I do not think the project would have gotten this far without his help and support,” he said.
The draft environmental study will build on the completed planning and environmental linkage study and assess conversion of the highway in Orange and Sullivan counties.
Among the issues to be studied are air quality, wetlands impacts, environmental justice, adding a third lane in both directions, interchange improvements and bridge replacements.
