Rt. 12 corridor earmarked for upgrades
WASHINGTON – Both houses of Congress stamped their approval over the weekend for an appropriations bill that includes nearly $500,000 for improvements to the New York State Route 12 corridor in Chenango County.
If President Obama signs it, and the New York State Department of Transportation decides to run with it, the funding would go toward the engineering and design phase for completing a bypass around the City of Norwich via county Rt. 32, or East River Road.
Approximately 5.1 miles of highway in the Town of Norwich from the Rt. 32 intersection at state Rt. 23 to the intersection with state Rt. 12 in North Norwich would be widened and paved. The project would include replacing three bridges, some traffic control devices, and a storm water collection system.
Construction costs are estimated to be about $20 million, according to Chenango County Public Works Director Randy Gibbon.
The bypass is not currently listed on the state’s construction schedule, however, despite year’s of planning improvements to the corridor from Binghamton to Utica.
“Just about everything’s been taken off the list because there’s no money,” he said.
The Chenango County project is part of a Department of Transportation and Housing, and Urban Development final appropriations bill that was supported by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Michael Arcuri. Schumer requested that the subcommittee include funding for this project in the bill; Arcuri supported the money throughout the conference committee process.
A representative from the New York State Department of Transportation office could not be reached for comment on the bypass project, but a conversation with a NYSDOT project manager for improvements to a different segment of state Rt. 12 gives an indication of the lengthy timeline for completing the work.
A 5.5-mile segment of roadway in the Town of Greene has been in the works for more than a decade. Federal and state funding was appropriated in the mid 1990s. Targeting Rt. 12 from just south of county Rt. 2, or Genegantslet Road, to just north of county Rt. 3-A, or Harbor Road, the enhancement project received the go-ahead from NYSDOT in December of 1998. It was later scaled back, however, and reapproved in 2002. The final engineering design was cleared just this past July, and the work isn’t expected to be let to bid until August of 2011.
“That’s the normal time a project takes,” said Marc Broder, NYSDOT project manager.
If the executive branch of federal government approves, the new federal dollars for Rt. 12 would “help solve the safety and congestion problems that have plagued Route 12 for years, particularly in cities and towns where the highway goes through downtown core areas,” said Schumer in a press release. Route 12 has significant truck traffic servicing local business and industry, but drivers are often forced to slow because of excessive grades, school bus and farm implement traffic, a lack of turning lanes, limited sight distances and deteriorating road conditions.
“A highway that’s safe and flows smoothly will help the many businesses in the area ship their products and receive supplies,” the Senator said. “The Raymond Corporation, Titan Homes, Unison, Norwich Aero, Sheffield, The Mid-York Press, and Norwich Pharmaceuticals depend upon highway system reliability and travel time predictability, access to suppliers and markets, and adequate workforce in order to remain viable in the area. Without major improvements to the Route 12 corridor, it is quite likely that major employers will decide to exit the region thereby creating direct and indirect loss of jobs in an area that has seen limited job expansion in the nation’s economic recovery.”
According to Rep. Arcuri, the Route 12 corridor is “essential to business and travel throughout Upstate New York.”
“It is imperative that we fund the necessary improvements to this vital road and ensure that traffic can flow efficiently and safely so that Route 12 can continue to grow and develop as a critical economic byway connecting towns, villages and cities across Upstate New York,” he said.
If President Obama signs it, and the New York State Department of Transportation decides to run with it, the funding would go toward the engineering and design phase for completing a bypass around the City of Norwich via county Rt. 32, or East River Road.
Approximately 5.1 miles of highway in the Town of Norwich from the Rt. 32 intersection at state Rt. 23 to the intersection with state Rt. 12 in North Norwich would be widened and paved. The project would include replacing three bridges, some traffic control devices, and a storm water collection system.
Construction costs are estimated to be about $20 million, according to Chenango County Public Works Director Randy Gibbon.
The bypass is not currently listed on the state’s construction schedule, however, despite year’s of planning improvements to the corridor from Binghamton to Utica.
“Just about everything’s been taken off the list because there’s no money,” he said.
The Chenango County project is part of a Department of Transportation and Housing, and Urban Development final appropriations bill that was supported by U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer and Congressman Michael Arcuri. Schumer requested that the subcommittee include funding for this project in the bill; Arcuri supported the money throughout the conference committee process.
A representative from the New York State Department of Transportation office could not be reached for comment on the bypass project, but a conversation with a NYSDOT project manager for improvements to a different segment of state Rt. 12 gives an indication of the lengthy timeline for completing the work.
A 5.5-mile segment of roadway in the Town of Greene has been in the works for more than a decade. Federal and state funding was appropriated in the mid 1990s. Targeting Rt. 12 from just south of county Rt. 2, or Genegantslet Road, to just north of county Rt. 3-A, or Harbor Road, the enhancement project received the go-ahead from NYSDOT in December of 1998. It was later scaled back, however, and reapproved in 2002. The final engineering design was cleared just this past July, and the work isn’t expected to be let to bid until August of 2011.
“That’s the normal time a project takes,” said Marc Broder, NYSDOT project manager.
If the executive branch of federal government approves, the new federal dollars for Rt. 12 would “help solve the safety and congestion problems that have plagued Route 12 for years, particularly in cities and towns where the highway goes through downtown core areas,” said Schumer in a press release. Route 12 has significant truck traffic servicing local business and industry, but drivers are often forced to slow because of excessive grades, school bus and farm implement traffic, a lack of turning lanes, limited sight distances and deteriorating road conditions.
“A highway that’s safe and flows smoothly will help the many businesses in the area ship their products and receive supplies,” the Senator said. “The Raymond Corporation, Titan Homes, Unison, Norwich Aero, Sheffield, The Mid-York Press, and Norwich Pharmaceuticals depend upon highway system reliability and travel time predictability, access to suppliers and markets, and adequate workforce in order to remain viable in the area. Without major improvements to the Route 12 corridor, it is quite likely that major employers will decide to exit the region thereby creating direct and indirect loss of jobs in an area that has seen limited job expansion in the nation’s economic recovery.”
According to Rep. Arcuri, the Route 12 corridor is “essential to business and travel throughout Upstate New York.”
“It is imperative that we fund the necessary improvements to this vital road and ensure that traffic can flow efficiently and safely so that Route 12 can continue to grow and develop as a critical economic byway connecting towns, villages and cities across Upstate New York,” he said.
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