The roughly one-mile stretch of Route 9A between the Taconic State Parkway and Pleasantville Road in Briarcliff Manor – notorious for its potholes and undersized overpass – is the target of $20 million in state funding.
The state Department of Transportation funding was announced recently by state Sen. Pete Harckham and Assemblymember Dana Levenberg
The money covers preliminary engineering, detailed/final design and coordination to satisfy federal and state environmental requirements, according to a joint press release from Harckham and Levenberg. It does not cover actual construction costs. A timeline for the work will be established in the near future, according to the DOT.
Details for the project were not announced, but recommendations from a state engineering report for that stretch of Route 9A include a new, taller bridge at Pleasantville Road, noise walls, flood mitigation and a new interchange at Route 100.
The funding covers the first of a four-phase plan to modernize a 5.5-mile corridor from the Taconic and the Route 9A/Route 9 merge in Ossining.
The roadway, also known as the Briarcliff-Peekskill Parkway, lacks shoulders and breakdown lanes and has deteriorated in recent years, thanks to heavy use and storm damage.
More than 40,000 vehicles travel on Route 9A each day — cars, vans, fire engines, garbage trucks, 18-wheelers — all navigating the tight confines, many on- and off-ramps and low bridges. It is the scene of more than 120 major accidents a year, according to state and local officials.
“For the many residents, commuters and business owners who regularly travel on this stretch of Route 9A, this is the best news possible,” Harckham stated. “The safety of this roadway has long been an issue because of potholes, persistent flooding and aging infrastructure.”
Added Levenberg: “We have heard our constituents loud and clear: Route 9A has been neglected for too long. That era of neglect is coming to an end now.”
Briarcliff Manor Mayor Steve Vescio commended the state for budgeting the funds to design the safety upgrades to the regional transportation corridor. “We look forward to working with our state partners as this process continues to ensure the project moves through design and towards construction in a timely and efficient manner,” Vescio stated.
MORE 9A NEWS
Route 9A slated for $15M Ossining-Cortlandt Repaving
An approximately $15 million paving job to resurface Route 9A from Route 133 in Ossining to Maiden Lane in the Town of Cortlandt is in the works.
The state Department of Transportation expects to award and begin construction on the project in the coming months, pending approval by the Office of the State Comptroller, said DOT spokeswoman Heather Pillsworth.
The roughly seven-mile stretch of Route 9A includes a hilly portion of the state roadway as it passes Crotonville and the St Augustine cemetery. The project covers 23 lane miles, which includes both north-south lanes, turning lanes and ramps.
Upwards of 40,000 passenger vehicles and trucks a day rumble through the corridor where residential and commercial development has swelled since the road opened as the Briarcliff-Peekskill Parkway in the 1930s.
