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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 16-105

October 14, 2016

deppressoffice@dep.nyc.gov, (845) 334-7868

DEP Notifies Hudson Valley Residents and Visitors of Upcoming Trail Closure for Safe Removal of Construction Materials

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is notifying Hudson Valley residents and visitors that demobilization from a completed construction project will require a helicopter to airlift materials to two sites near Breakneck Ridge. The recently completed work included improvements to drainage and security at two superstructures associated with the Catskill Aqueduct, a 92-mile-long conduit that carries water from Ashokan Reservoir to New York City. The safe removal of construction materials by helicopter—scheduled for the morning of Thursday, Oct. 27—will require a portion of the Breakneck Ridge Trail to be closed to ensure public safety. The trail had been closed for a morning in August when the same helicopter crew delivered construction materials to the project sites.

DEP is working with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to coordinate the brief closure on Oct. 27. Breakneck Ridge is part of the Hudson Highlands State Park Preserve. The closure will affect a short stretch of the trail, located about 3 miles north of the Village of Cold Spring, where a tunnel carries Route 9D through the mountain. The closure is expected to start about 7 a.m. and end no later than noon. State Parks and DEP staff will be at the trail that morning to inform visitors of the work. Signs will be posted this week at trailheads and local train stations to alert hikers and visitors about the upcoming closure. DEP scheduled the airlift for a weekday to coincide with relatively light use of the popular trail.

Construction materials will be removed from the work sites by a helicopter, and they will be delivered to a staging area at the Town of Philipstown Highway Garage. The materials, tethered safely beneath the helicopter, must be airlifted because neither building has viable road access. Anyone with questions about the work is encouraged to call DEP at (845) 334-7868.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of high quality water each day to more than 9.5 million New Yorkers. This includes more than 70 upstate communities and institutions in Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties who consume an average of 110 million total gallons of drinking water daily from New York City’s water supply system. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP has nearly 6,000 employees, including almost 1,000 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the upstate watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $157 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.7 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with nearly $14 billion in investments planned over the next 10 years that will create up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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