By John Jordan

TOWN OF WALLKILL—In advance of public scoping open houses scheduled on May 15 in the Town of Wallkill and May 16 in Central Valley for the “State Route 17 Mobility & Access Improvement Project” also known as the Route 17 expansion project, the New York State Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have provided significant detail on their three preliminary study concepts involving improvements or expansions possible for the roadway in Orange and Sullivan counties.

On April 30, the Federal Highway Administration, in conjunction with NYSDOT, published in the Federal Register its Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the project. The publication of the NOI began a 30-day public comment period that includes the May 15 and May 16 scoping sessions. The FHWA and NYSDOT are co-lead agencies for the project. Although the EIS will include a No Build option, it is doubtful based on the longstanding need for improvements and the fact that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has committed $1 billion in capital funding for the Route 17 improvement/expansion project that the No Build option will be selected.

In the NOI, FHWA and NYSDOT spelled out preliminary details of their three build concepts currently being reviewed involving 1) operational improvements; 2) the addition of a peak period shoulder lane and 3) the addition of a general use third lane. NYSDOT expects to complete a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project in 2025 and issue a Record of Decision and secure all permits and approvals by May 2026.

The project involves improvements to a 30-mile stretch of New York State Route 17 between Exit 113 in Wurtsboro, Sullivan County, and Interstate 87 in Orange County (Woodbury). The project will address operational and safety deficiencies, improve congestion-related travel times and address features of the corridor that currently do not meet Interstate standards. Multi-modal improvements will be assessed and considered, as well as environmental impacts. The NOI also included anticipated project timelines prior to construction.

Based on the NOI, while interchange improvements and possible multimodal upgrades are planned in the corridor that includes sections of Route 17 in Orange and Sullivan counties, the main focus of construction would be centered at locations on Route 17 in Orange County in each of the three preliminary concepts currently being studied.

Concept No. 1 Operational Improvements

Concept 1 “proposes the construction of operational improvements, such as auxiliary lanes and collector-distributor roads, at three locations along NYS Route 17. NYS Route 17 would remain as two mainline travel lanes in each direction. Mainline operational improvements would be constructed along NYS Route 17 in both directions from Exit 120, NYS Route 211 to Exit 122, Crystal Run Road, from Exit 122 A, Fletcher Street to Exit 124, NYS Route 207, and from Exit 130, NYS Route 208 to Exit 130A, U.S. Route 6 at the eastern end of the project in order to adequately address operational and safety needs related to the close proximity of the interchanges and the volume of entering and exiting traffic at these three locations.”

Interchange improvements would be included along the transportation corridor to address non-standard, non-conforming and operational issues. The NOI also states that multimodal improvements would also be assessed as part of Concept 1.

Concept No. 2 Peak Period Shoulder Lane

Concept No. 2 “proposes the construction of a peak period shoulder lane in both directions of NYS Route 17 from Exit 122, Crystal Run Road to Exit 130, NYS Route 208. Peak period shoulder lanes would provide additional mobility during periods of high traffic volume. A full-time general use lane would be added along NYS Route 17 in both directions from Exit 120, NYS Route 211 to Exit 122, Crystal Run Road and from Exit 130, NYS Route 208 to I-87 at the eastern end of the project in order to adequately address operational and safety needs related to the close proximity of the interchanges and the volume of entering and exiting traffic at these three locations.”

Concept No. 2 would also include interchange improvements in the corridor and the review of multimodal upgrades.

Concept No. 3 Continuous General Use Travel Lane

Concept No. 3 “proposes construction of a continuous third general use travel lane along NYS Route 17 in each direction between Exit 120, NYS Route 211 in Wallkill to the eastern limit of the project at I-87 in Woodbury.”

Concept No. 3 would also include interchange improvements in the corridor and the review of multimodal upgrades.

The NOI also included potential environmental, traffic and construction impacts, as well as anticipated permits and authorizations.

Project Timeline

·       Public Scoping Meeting (May 2024)

·       Project Scoping Report Publication (August 2024)

·       Notice of the Availability of the Draft DEIS-Draft Environmental Impact Statement (August 2025)

·       Public Hearing (September 2025)

·       45-Day DEIS Public Comment Period (Begins with the Notice of Availability of DEIS (August-October 2025)

·       Submit Final EIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement) to FHWA (December 2025)

·       Publish Single FEIS and ROD (Record of Decision) February 2026

·       Issue all Project Permits and Authorization Decisions (May 2026).

One major improvement project to be undertaken during the study period is Stage II of the Exit 122 Crystal Run Road interchange improvement project that has been estimated to cost somewhere between $75 million to $85 million. That project is expected to go out to bid in the fall of this year with work on the project to begin shortly thereafter and interchange upgrades completed in 2015.

It should also be noted that NYSDOT completed work at Exit 131 in 2021 that involved major interchange improvements and enhanced access to Woodbury Common that totaled approximately $125 million.

The informal, open-house-style scoping session gatherings will take place on Wednesday, May 15 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Town of Wallkill Community Center located at 7-9 Wes Warren Drive, Scotchtown, and Thursday, May 16 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Central Valley Elementary School located at 45 State Route 32, Central Valley. Meeting content will be the same at each event. NYSDOT representatives will be available to provide information, answer questions and gather input.