April 8, 2019
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) announced that construction will begin this month on a $5 million project to improve the flow of traffic and pedestrian safety at eight intersections near Kensico Dam in Westchester County. The project is rooted in changes that happened after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, which required DEP to permanently end vehicular traffic on the roadway atop Kensico Dam. That roadway is now open only as a recreation path for walkers, joggers and cyclists.
A DEP study found that closing the roadway over the dam resulted in additional cars driving through the hamlet of Valhalla and its surrounding residential neighborhoods. To mitigate that effect, DEP has worked for years with local officials to plan a number of traffic-control improvements that would help cars and pedestrians travel more safely. The results of that planning effort is a $5 million project that will begin this month and last approximately two years. The project includes myriad upgrades to highways, traffic control devices, crosswalks and more. The following upgrades will happen at eight intersections near the dam.
Site 1: Route 120 (King Street) at Nannyhagen Road
Site 2: Lakeview Avenue at the Taconic State Parkway
Site 3A: North Broadway Avenue at Route 22
Site 3B: Hillandale Avenue
Site 4: Legion Drive and Columbus Avenue
Site 5: Park Drive and Broadway
Site 6: Taconic State Parkway at Cleveland Avenue
Site 7: Westland Drive at Route 22
DEP will work on these intersections one at a time throughout the next two construction seasons. Those traveling through the area should expect to see flaggers, signs and intermittent lane closures that are meant to ensure the safety of construction workers. No road closures or detours are planned to accommodate the work.
DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than 1 billion gallons of high-quality water each day to more than 9.6 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 watershed. In addition to its $70 million payroll and $168.9 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 $19.7 billion in investments planned over the next decade 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.