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Let's add a lane to 17

Posted 3/3/20

Elected officials, business owners, and residents took part in a discussion at the West Hills Country Club in Middletown last week. The topic at hand was the expansion of State Route 17 (the …

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Let's add a lane to 17

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Elected officials, business owners, and residents took part in a discussion at the West Hills Country Club in Middletown last week. The topic at hand was the expansion of State Route 17 (the Quickway), and advocating for a third lane being in place from Woodbury Commons in Orange County to Exit 100 in Liberty.

The discussion was organized by 17-Forward-86, a coalition formed in 2018 promoting and exploring the expansion of State Route 17. It has over 200 members.

The idea is that a third lane would alleviate the current traffic congestion the region sees yearly and to spur on more economic growth. The coalition is requesting that the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) advance the construction of the third lane on Route 17 and create Interstate-86.

According to 17-Forward-86, $500 million has been allocated for the project to move forward with a Planning and Environment Linkage (PEL) study.

Eighty percent of the funds will come from the Federal Government, and 20 percent will come from New York State.

In October 2019, the NYSDOT chose a firm to conduct a $5 million study that will include seeking priority locations and directing environmental assessments and preliminary engineering. The study, believed to begin next month, will take between 12-to-18 months to complete.

The Hudson Valley is booming right now, and with a number of tourism attractions like Resorts World Catskills and the Kartrite Resort and Indoor Waterpark in our backyard, as well as the opening of Legoland in neighboring Orange County this summer, there's no doubt visitor traffic will increase.

Also, the Cornell Program of Applied Demographics projects population growth in both counties with Sullivan County's population expected to grow to more than 79,000 in 2020 and Orange County to more than 400,000 people.

Adding a third lane to State Route 17 is not a new topic, and one we will continue to cover. We are in support of a third lane, as no one likes being stuck in traffic. We also take local officials and business owners concerns seriously when they say that complaints about traffic on State Route 17 between Orange and Sullivan County is already being brought by visitors and that future business could be affected.

For more information about the coalition and status of a third lane on State Route 17, visit www. 17forward86.org.

RUTH GRANT

Last week, we attended the 111th birthday party of Ruth Grant at the Care Center at Sunset Lake. It was a pleasure talking to the former Liberty Central School District educator.

It was great to see such a wonderful crowd in attendance. As Sullivan County's oldest resident, you don't see people turn 111 too often.

Mrs. Grant is a truly wonderful woman, with a great sense of humor and we hope this year is her best yet!

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