Overpass meeting February 7, 2019
Thursday, February 7, was a wet, foggy evening, but the Town Hall parking lot was full and the Town Hall meeting room was standing-room only. About 40 residents crowded in to hear the DOT discuss specifics of the construction, necessary detours, and timing of the Pudding Street Overpass project. The crowd was understandably anxious about the details, but applause rang out several times during the presentation. One thing, for sure, whatever the inconvenience of the construction period, the Overpass is long-awaited and totally needed.
I’m posting a few key points, but a video, a 3-D imaging of the construction stages, and a slide set is up on the Town website. The summary below is a bit vague, be patient. It’ll make more sense with the timeline and pictures.
Tree removal and other prep-work will be on-going this spring. The actual work on the overpass will commence late this summer (2019) and will be complete by August 31, 2020. Several significant incentives and penalties are in place to insure that the work is completed on schedule.
Emergency services (police, fire, and ambulance) will continue to be run by our regular responders from Putnam Valley. There will be specific limited-access points for emergency vehicles only to enter the RBL District when other access points are blocked. If emergency access is not possible, fully staffed emergency vehicles will be parked in the District.
The Pudding Street crossing will be closed to all traffic for 5 months, approximately between April and August 2020. The main detour during those times will be Pudding St south to Peekskill Hollow Rd north.
The North-Bound Taconic (in and out ramps) will be open some of the time that the Pudding Street.crossing is closed.
There will be a period of time when the Pudding St. crossing is open, but Southbound Taconic traffic will not be able to exit left.
Gordon Rd will be open but will not be improved (it would save very little time and be costly)
The blasting of rock will go on between the hours of 10 am and 3 pm. The blasting noise will be brief and not excessive. The seismic impact will not affect home foundations or the integrity of the dam. During blasts, the Taconic Parkway will be briefly closed to traffic.
The funds for the Pudding St Overpass have been designated and set aside. They will not be affected by NY State budget constraints.
All storm-water drainage during construction will flow away from the lake.
The created wetlands will be monitored and maintained for a minimum of five years after the project is completed. Invasive species will be weeded out. When needed, new native plants will replace failed plants and removed invasives. A diverse and thriving native wetland flora and fauna (including beavers) will be considered a sign of success of the created wetlands.
All properties that need to be acquired by DOT have either been acquired already, or are well along in the process. No difficulties are expected.