If there were to be an annual award for the most visible Village project of the past year for Tarrytown, a strong case could be made for the Neperan Road repaving, with the Neperan Park project a strong second.
Some would argue that the removal of the Asphalt plant would hold the number one spot, but the facts of the Neperan projects are as dramatic as the construction was visible. The entire length of Neperan Road, from Broadway (Route 9) to the entrance of the Saw Mill Parkway next to the old Pump Station at the Eastern end of the Lakes began construction in May, and now in December, it is nearly 90% finished. According to Village Engineer, Mike McGarvey, the actual length of the paved road is nearly two miles long and consumed 15,000 U.S. tons of asphalt. The project required $3.1 million and used a grant from NY State to pay for the bulk of the paving and guardrail construction. From conception to this point in time, nearly six years have passed, with most of the intervening time being spent in gaining approvals and financial allocations from the State. McGarvey indicated that the project came in close to the original estimates, [unlike the escalation of current fire department costs and school rebuilding costs].
Most of the work was handled by Canon Asphalt of Mt. Vernon, N.Y. and was completed with what most villagers considered minimum disruption, with work being done at night and during off-hours in the case of major construction. The physical appearance of the finished road and its safety guardrails have been designed to look like a road from the past with a use of "rustic" materials in the guardrail construction. For those that have mentioned that the finished construction does indeed look like a rust finish, McGarvey pointed out that the material is called "Corten" steel and actually uses a rust layer that provides weather protection for the steel itself. The support steel posts are 8-feet long and sink deeply into the lakeside dirt, providing a strong barrier for the occasional wayward vehicle.
For those that want to examine the minute details of road construction, there are three layers of material that go into the 16-inch roadbed itself. First is the top layer (binder) which includes smaller stone to insure a smooth ride. The two lower layers have heavier stones for strength (binder and base). One of the major considerations in this entire process is run-off coming down the sides of the hills from Wilson Park and the Rockefeller property.
At various intervals, catch basins have been built with 12-inch pipes leading into the lake itself. Ongoing testing for run-off continues to make sure the lakes are not degrading in water quality. At one point in all of this planning, there was a suggestion to run a straight line "parkway" across the Lakes, but fortunately this idea did not stand.
The second Neperan Road project, the Park, is also well underway and has been seeded for next spring’s growth. Benches will be added as will drainage improvements. Grading and fencing are being completed and the cost structure (approx. $240,000) is well within the original cost estimates. The current configuration of the Park runs from the Neperan Road side all the way through to Hamilton Place on the back side of the Park. Given the retention of open space and the rustic look for the lakeside road, the community has held on to the original look and feel of "old Tarrytown." Just what the Village planners ordered and just what citizens had hoped for!
