New York

[Dougtone]

Come check out the Roosevelt Island Bridge, which as the only vehicular access to New York City's Roosevelt Island...
https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/12/roosevelt-island-bridge.html

[roadwaywiz95]

Huh.  It's unfortunate your tour of I-690 wasn't delayed a little bit.  The Bridge Street project supposedly will be all done quite soon (end of this week?)..except I still need to complain about the exit only arrow on the Bridge St sign over the option lane headed EB.

The footage to be featured in this presentation was documented on/around October 20 of this year; recent enough so that folks get an accurate idea of the system as it stands at this time. Of course there may be minor ongoing projects in some locations but for our purposes, they're not a significant collective obstacle to showcasing each highway in the series.

Due to time constraints, it will not be possible to go through the videos of every highway we profile; the viewers who tune in to the live stream will be able to influence the direction of this element of the broadcast.

[Rothman]

Oh, I understand the issue with timing -- you have to get the video done when you're available to get it.  But, the I-690/Bridge Street project has been anything but minor.  I'll be back through there on Sunday to see if they got done what they said they'd get done.

Just being wistful about what the video could have been, that's all.

[TheGrassGuy]

Is the NY 17/32 interchange done? According to Google Maps, it is. Opinions on it/does it seem to solve the traffic problem?
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3175718,-74.1371128,16z

[Rothman]

...and the ramp from Bridge Street to I-690 east is still closed.  Wonder what happened.

[TheGrassGuy]

...and the ramp from Bridge Street to I-690 east is still closed.  Wonder what happened.

Isn't I-690 being demolished along with I-81 in downtown Syracuse?

[cl94]

...and the ramp from Bridge Street to I-690 east is still closed.  Wonder what happened.

Isn't I-690 being demolished along with I-81 in downtown Syracuse?

For starters, nothing is being done in Downtown Syracuse yet. We're gonna have a long string of legal battles before anything happens. I wouldn't be shocked if the I-81 viaduct falls down before shovels hit the ground.

All proposals for I-81 keep I-690 in place as-is, except with revised connections to/from the south. That road is going nowhere.

(Personal opinion emphasized)

[Rothman]

Exactly: I-690 stays with even some ramp reconfigurations/additions.

[Alps]

Is the NY 17/32 interchange done? According to Google Maps, it is. Opinions on it/does it seem to solve the traffic problem?
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.3175718,-74.1371128,16z

I just went through it. I think the signal timings are a little off still, but from the time I went through, I can't vouch for how well it solves problems. Gotta give it a little time and then ask commuters.

[TheGrassGuy]

Exactly: I-690 stays with even some ramp reconfigurations/additions.

Aw, I was hoping that they'd fix the traffic lights at the fair. On a road trip to Niagara Falls in my youth, the fair just happened to be going on, and I was understandably confused.

[Rothman]

Exactly: I-690 stays with even some ramp reconfigurations/additions.

Aw, I was hoping that they'd fix the traffic lights at the fair. On a road trip to Niagara Falls in my youth, the fair just happened to be going on, and I was understandably confused.

They have started to fix that as well.  This was the last year for that infamous temporary traffic light.

[seicer]

Gov. Andrew Cuomo rips 60% toll increase planned for northern Hudson River bridges

The Cuomo administration criticized plans by the state Bridge Authority to raise tolls 60% on the five Hudson Valley bridges it controls, saying "a toll increase of this magnitude is not warranted."

The letter sent Friday from state budget director Robert Mujica to the Bridge Authority rips the authority's plan to increase revenue by $22 million, or by 37%, through a toll increase.

Mujica said the increase would increase tolls by 60%: from $1.25 to $2 roundtrip for drivers with E-ZPass and from $1.50 to $2.50 for those paying cash.

The authority maintains five toll bridges: the Mid-Hudson Bridge, the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge, the Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and the Bear Mountain Bridge.

--

I did not see this get posted (but there are also multiple Tappan Zee / Mario Cuomo bridge threads at this point):

Contractors for new Tappan Zee bridge claim they're owed $900 million, sue state for project documents

The companies that designed and built the $3.9 billion Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge are asking a judge to force the New York State Thruway Authority to hand over internal records the contractors want in their pursuit of about $900 million they claim is owed.

Tappan Zee Constructors LLC, the consortium of firms that built the 3.1-mile bridge across the Hudson River between Rockland and Westchester counties, sued the Thruway Authority this week in state Supreme Court in Albany County.

The lawsuit claims the authority violated the state Freedom of Information Law by not turning over the vast majority of documents that were requested in a timely manner, and didn't provide a legally justifiable reason for denying access to records.

[machias]

Exactly: I-690 stays with even some ramp reconfigurations/additions.

Aw, I was hoping that they'd fix the traffic lights at the fair. On a road trip to Niagara Falls in my youth, the fair just happened to be going on, and I was understandably confused.

They have started to fix that as well.  This was the last year for that infamous temporary traffic light.

The light is gone, though heading westbound there's still a "Stop Here On Red" sign. The bridge supports are in place, but no bridge yet.

[roadwaywiz95]

Am posting the link to the previously-announced webinar featuring northern/western NY's auxiliary interstates below, in case folks have not seen it/bookmarked it already. The show kicks off at 5 PM ET this afternoon and will feature a few familiar faces on the forum - come join us!

[Rothman]

I-690 lanes are open, but the blasted ramp from Bridge St to I-690 EB is still closed with work still being done under the bridge.

I might find out more about what's going on come Tuesday.

[Michael]

The first article does not state that "NYSDOT wants to" implement the road diet, although the second does -- I believe incorrectly.  Rather, my understanding is that it is actually Onondaga County that is the sponsor of the project while NYSDOT is assisting by implementing it.

(personal opinion expressed)

It's on NYSDOT's projects site if that tells you anything.  Are local projects ever listed on the NYSDOT project page?

Here's a couple renderings from an article on Syracuse.com:





(click each image for a larger version)

Huh.  It's unfortunate your tour of I-690 wasn't delayed a little bit.  The Bridge Street project supposedly will be all done quite soon (end of this week?)..except I still need to complain about the exit only arrow on the Bridge St sign over the option lane headed EB.

Do you mean the first or second sign?  I'm not a fan of either sign, nor am I a fan of the lane layout of the area.  I think the added lane should be the exit lane, and the right lane of I-690 would be the option lane.  Last time I drove through there, I was almost forced onto the C/D road.  There was a backup in all three lanes, and I was in the right lane.  By the time I got over a lane, the line of cars in that lane had already split, so I needed to get over a second time.  I was able to find a gap just before the lines at the exit gore.

I'm surprised at how well people have been following the 45 MPH work zone speed limit.  It's normally 55 all the way until I-481, and it's so hard to not do 65 between the NY 635 bridge and I-481.  I normally do 60-65 without realizing it, and there's cars that are passing me.

I'll also take a moment to talk about my complaint about Bridge St too.  When you're on NY 290 west, there's an added lane just before NY 290 turns onto Bridge St, but that's not a turn lane like I expect it to be.  A bit closer to the intersection, there's a right turn lane added.  Once you get to the I-690 west ramp, the lane that was added becomes a right turn lane, along with another lane added just after the Bridge St intersection.  One of the last times I was on NY 290, I wanted to get on I-690, but I was in the wrong lane, and since there wasn't a gap, I was forced to go to Erie Blvd and get on I-690 at NY 635.

[Rothman]

Not sure where the Parkway project is headed now due to even more various issues between all the entities and the public.  Seems to have been some lack of understanding or outright total reversals of support for the idea.

(personal opinion expressed)

[ixnay]

Speaking of parkways, what's the backstory behind this structure in the median of the Taconic between I-84 and NY 52?

https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5475993,-73.77449,3a,75y,278.81h,90.74t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s2GMxQxLLQj_6bEEEThqaCg!2e0!5s20180801T000000!7i13312!8i6656

ixnay

[SignBridge]

Former gas station?

[roadwaywiz95]

Yes, former gas/service station. The old ramps/infrastructure remained until 2008 when the area was cleaned up, but the station building is supposedly on some sort of historic registry so it's not going anywhere.

This project in 2008 was also my first venture into road/bridge construction as a professional - I was in my first summer as an intern with DOT when it happened, so it's got some personal significance w.r.t. my career path.

[D-Dey65]

Look what I found in a newsletter about the Long Island Motor Parkway; It's a 1931 map showing among other things, the original intended path of the missing link for NY 24:
http://www.vanderbiltcupraces.com/blog/article/kleiners_kolumn_the_motor_parkway_in_maps_part_iii?utm_source=VCR+Newsletter+December+14%2C+2019&utm_campaign=test&utm_medium=email

[vdeane]

While doing some clinching around Niagara Falls today, I happened to drive on the new southern end of the northern section of Niagara Scenic Parkway.  They now have Whirlpool Street signed "TO Niagara Scenic Parkway", with the parkway realigned to feed directly into the street at Findlay Drive.  Also interesting is what used to be a RIRO interchange with NY 104 north of there at Devils Hole State Park.  That RIRO is now an all-way stop and the former off ramp is now striped for two-way traffic (the on ramp appeared to be unchanged).  Whether they are going to have traffic from NY 104 access both directions of parkway or have both directions of parkway access NY 104 (or both), I'm not sure.  Signage on NY 104 is unchanged, and I didn't take the parkway north of there.

[roadman65]

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-toll-20191222-ozqq7atcbrexdpwtukrncm5uim-story.html  No more free EB travel into Brooklyn.

[SignBridge]

I always thought it was unusual that the MTA's Verrazzano Bridge collected the toll westbound while all of the Port Authority's Hudson River crossings were tolled eastbound. It kind of defeated the purpose for one facility to be the opposite of all the others.

[Rothman]

https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/ny-edit-toll-20191222-ozqq7atcbrexdpwtukrncm5uim-story.html  No more free EB travel into Brooklyn.

Shameless money grab.