New York State Thruway

[webny99]

There's currently delays of almost 1.5 hours on the EB thruway between I-481 and Canastota. Seemingly both road construction and an accident have contributed to a ~seven mile backup. There's not a lot of good alternates to this 16-mile stretch of the Thruway either, so local roads east of Syracuse are bound to be congested.

[vdeane]

There's currently delays of almost 1.5 hours on the EB thruway between I-481 and Canastota. Seemingly both road construction and an accident have contributed to a ~seven mile backup. There's not a lot of good alternates to this 16-mile stretch of the Thruway either, so local roads east of Syracuse are bound to be congested.

I got caught in that.  At one point they even had a DEC spill control truck out there.  They had all traffic shunted onto the shoulder with frequent full stoppages of all traffic.  And the Thruway didn't even bother to provide any warning.  Meanwhile, time is at a premium for me today, and I lost an hour to this shitshow.  What was supposed to be a relaxing evening has turned into "finish unpacking during commercial breaks because I couldn't finish before the news started and race through all the internet stuff I usually check because I was busy unpacking and doing grocery shopping when I would normally read it".

Quite frankly, I'm furious with the Thruway Authority at this point.  The reason why I spend extra vacation time to leave a day later on all the major holidays is to avoid shit like this (which is practically guaranteed at this point on the major travel days).  Now even that doesn't feel like a reliable strategy.  This wasn't even the only delay on the Thruway today - a work zone in the other direction near exit 29 created stop and go traffic over at least a mile.  I'm at the point where I'm tempted to divert to either US 20 or NY 17/I-88 for all future trips between Rochester and Albany, since the Thruway cannot be relied on at this point to get from point A to point B with any degree of speed or reliability.

I would go so far as to say that the Thruway Authority should be disbanded.  Between stuff like this, the AET issues, the GMCB problems, and the service area debacle, they are showing clear carelessness and contempt for the traveling public and are clearly unable and unwilling to serve the people of New York.  I'm sick of it.

(personal opinion)

[SignBridge]

There's currently delays of almost 1.5 hours on the EB thruway between I-481 and Canastota. Seemingly both road construction and an accident have contributed to a ~seven mile backup. There's not a lot of good alternates to this 16-mile stretch of the Thruway either, so local roads east of Syracuse are bound to be congested.

I got caught in that.  At one point they even had a DEC spill control truck out there.  They had all traffic shunted onto the shoulder with frequent full stoppages of all traffic.  And the Thruway didn't even bother to provide any warning.  Meanwhile, time is at a premium for me today, and I lost an hour to this shitshow.  What was supposed to be a relaxing evening has turned into "finish unpacking during commercial breaks because I couldn't finish before the news started and race through all the internet stuff I usually check because I was busy unpacking and doing grocery shopping when I would normally read it".

Quite frankly, I'm furious with the Thruway Authority at this point.  The reason why I spend extra vacation time to leave a day later on all the major holidays is to avoid shit like this (which is practically guaranteed at this point on the major travel days).  Now even that doesn't feel like a reliable strategy.  This wasn't even the only delay on the Thruway today - a work zone in the other direction near exit 29 created stop and go traffic over at least a mile.  I'm at the point where I'm tempted to divert to either US 20 or NY 17/I-88 for all future trips between Rochester and Albany, since the Thruway cannot be relied on at this point to get from point A to point B with any degree of speed or reliability.

I would go so far as to say that the Thruway Authority should be disbanded.  Between stuff like this, the AET issues, the GMCB problems, and the service area debacle, they are showing clear carelessness and contempt for the traveling public and are clearly unable and unwilling to serve the people of New York.  I'm sick of it.

(personal opinion)

Truly sorry you had a bad day vdeane. And I'm also sorry to hear that the Thruway Authority has lost so much ground. There was a time when they seemed to run a relatively good operation. A real shame if those days are gone and the Authority is being run by incompetents.

[Rothman]

There's currently delays of almost 1.5 hours on the EB thruway between I-481 and Canastota. Seemingly both road construction and an accident have contributed to a ~seven mile backup. There's not a lot of good alternates to this 16-mile stretch of the Thruway either, so local roads east of Syracuse are bound to be congested.

I got caught in that.  At one point they even had a DEC spill control truck out there.  They had all traffic shunted onto the shoulder with frequent full stoppages of all traffic.  And the Thruway didn't even bother to provide any warning.  Meanwhile, time is at a premium for me today, and I lost an hour to this shitshow.  What was supposed to be a relaxing evening has turned into "finish unpacking during commercial breaks because I couldn't finish before the news started and race through all the internet stuff I usually check because I was busy unpacking and doing grocery shopping when I would normally read it".

Quite frankly, I'm furious with the Thruway Authority at this point.  The reason why I spend extra vacation time to leave a day later on all the major holidays is to avoid shit like this (which is practically guaranteed at this point on the major travel days).  Now even that doesn't feel like a reliable strategy.  This wasn't even the only delay on the Thruway today - a work zone in the other direction near exit 29 created stop and go traffic over at least a mile.  I'm at the point where I'm tempted to divert to either US 20 or NY 17/I-88 for all future trips between Rochester and Albany, since the Thruway cannot be relied on at this point to get from point A to point B with any degree of speed or reliability.

I would go so far as to say that the Thruway Authority should be disbanded.  Between stuff like this, the AET issues, the GMCB problems, and the service area debacle, they are showing clear carelessness and contempt for the traveling public and are clearly unable and unwilling to serve the people of New York.  I'm sick of it.

(personal opinion)

Truly sorry you had a bad day vdeane. And I'm also sorry to hear that the Thruway Authority has lost so much ground. There was a time when they seemed to run a relatively good operation. A real shame if those days are gone and the Authority is being run by incompetents.

The fact that the Thruway got "held hostage" by its rest area contractor for a whole lot more money was very telling of their level of competence.

[webny99]

I got caught in that.  At one point they even had a DEC spill control truck out there.  They had all traffic shunted onto the shoulder with frequent full stoppages of all traffic.  And the Thruway didn't even bother to provide any warning.  Meanwhile, time is at a premium for me today, and I lost an hour to this shitshow.  What was supposed to be a relaxing evening has turned into "finish unpacking during commercial breaks because I couldn't finish before the news started and race through all the internet stuff I usually check because I was busy unpacking and doing grocery shopping when I would normally read it".

Shoot, I'm sorry about that. That is a major bummer. I could tell it was something big because it looked way worse than even just a lane closure would cause. There are no news reports yet though, which is rather odd.

Regarding the advance warning, the Thruway Traveler Map which has live VMS data was showing "HEAVY DELAYS BEYOND EXIT 34A / SEEK ALTERNATE ROUTES" on the VMS just east of Exit 39, but I guess that was either inaccurate or didn't show up until after you were past that point.

Not that it's worth anything to you now, but I might have considered using a median U-turn and returning to I-481 if caught in that mess. Though of course it's hard to know what you're in for at the time, and then if the incident does clear up you're set back even further*. Plus the actual U-turn itself can be dangerous, so I can definitely sympathize with not wanting to risk that either.

*Sidebar, this exact scenario happened to my family once. There was a major accident on the US 30 freeway near the Susquehanna River crossing in Columbia, PA. We were heading east and came to a total standstill just past the Wrightsville exit. We eventually started to inch along but my dad had had enough of it by the time we reached a median U-turn about a mile from the river bridge, so we joined a whole line of other cars waiting to make a U-turn. It was rather dicey trying to pull out into WB traffic moving at 65 mph to say the least, but we eventually found a gap and sped back to the Wrightsville exit, which had backed up due to the left turn onto PA 462. We eventually worked our way onto PA 462, through Wrightsville, across the river bridge, and back to US 30. By that point though, the initial accident had cleared up and traffic had started to move through, so we were well behind where we would have been just staying on US 30. I think we must have re-entered just as the heaviest wave of traffic from the cleared incident was coming through, as it was an absolute rat race from there to Lancaster. I don't think I've ever seen such heavy traffic moving so fast before or since. There was seemingly no speed too fast, as we were getting passed constantly whenever we moved right despite speeding well over the 55 mph limit. It was an unforgettable experience to be sure.

[vdeane]

Shoot, I'm sorry about that. That is a major bummer. I could tell it was something big because it looked way worse than even just a lane closure would cause. There are no news reports yet though, which is rather odd.

Regarding the advance warning, the Thruway Traveler Map which has live VMS data was showing "HEAVY DELAYS BEYOND EXIT 34A / SEEK ALTERNATE ROUTES" on the VMS just east of Exit 39, but I guess that was either inaccurate or didn't show up until after you were past that point.

Not that it's worth anything to you now, but I might have considered using a median U-turn and returning to I-481 if caught in that mess. Though of course it's hard to know what you're in for at the time, and then if the incident does clear up you're set back even further*. Plus the actual U-turn itself can be dangerous, so I can definitely sympathize with not wanting to risk that either.

The VMS was either blank or had a message about drunk driving still when I passed by.  Given that 3-4 Thruway trucks and the DEC truck all went by while I was stuck waiting, maybe they hadn't changed it yet.  I did see someone turn around and did consider it, but by that point I had already been waiting ~45 minutes and was most of the way through according to Google Maps (and not past that was when things started moving at least a little bit, though I did encounter a guy who wanted to enforce early merging and didn't let me maximize the capacity of the road; never mind that I was following the "flashers on under 40 mph" rule, so I couldn't signal a lane change even if I were inclined to early merge!).

As for the news reports, I feel like it might be noteworthy for any other road, but for the Thruway, it was Tuesday (literally in this case).

[Jim]

I also didn't get the usual warnings on the overhead signs the last two mornings about unusually heavy morning traffic between 25 and 24.  There was also rush-hour construction set up this morning between 27 and 26.  Not a major delay but it seems odd that they couldn't wait an hour.  It looks like they had set up the lane closure but had not begun any work.

[webny99]

though I did encounter a guy who wanted to enforce early merging and didn't let me maximize the capacity of the road; never mind that I was following the "flashers on under 40 mph" rule, so I couldn't signal a lane change even if I were inclined to early merge!).

Unless you were close enough to the scene to see what was going on, how could he have even been sure what side of the road the incident was on?

[jeffandnicole]

...never mind that I was following the "flashers on under 40 mph" rule, so I couldn't signal a lane change even if I were inclined to early merge!)....

That rule is really meant for traffic going under 40 mph when the general flow of traffic is moving at a normal speed.  If you're already in congestion, their use isn't necessary as the flow of traffic is moving below 40 mph.

Per NY State Statutes Section 103.14 - Vehicles under 40 miles per hour:

Vehicles equipped with simultaneous flashers shall be required to use them when traveling on the Thruway at a speed of less than 40 miles per hour, except when posted for less or when the flow of traffic dictates otherwise.

[webny99]

I've gotten in the habit of using my four way flashers as soon as I see unexpected congestion, on the Thruway or otherwise. I find it helps make other drivers aware of the slowdown so they can slow down more gradually,  thus preventing the type of brake slamming that can cause rear-end collisions.

Once you're deep in slow/stopped traffic though, I agree they're no longer necessary. It's incumbent on those slowing down at the back of the line to be using them at that point.

[vdeane]

though I did encounter a guy who wanted to enforce early merging and didn't let me maximize the capacity of the road; never mind that I was following the "flashers on under 40 mph" rule, so I couldn't signal a lane change even if I were inclined to early merge!).

Unless you were close enough to the scene to see what was going on, how could he have even been sure what side of the road the incident was on?

By the time people were early merging and he pulled out, I was that close.  Pretty much everyone moved right as soon as they saw the incident was on the left, and then he moved left and kept pace to make sure nobody could continue in the left lane all the way to the merge point.  Heck, after he got back up to speed, once it became apparent that my desired speed was a mph or two faster than his (took me longer to accelerate than he did) and I moved to pass him, he even sped up to prevent me from passing and kept that speed all the way to exit 33, where he got off.  Clearly something about late merging offends him, as he felt the need to be in front from then on.

[vdeane]

In service area news, the Modena service area is now closed, meaning there are no open service areas on I-87 SB between New Baltimore and Ramapo.  Apparently the contractor convinced NYSTA that this would lead to the project getting done faster.  I'm not sure how that's the case, given that they're stretched so thin that it takes forever to do the service areas that were closed before.  Wouldn't it make more sense to keep the multiple crews they have now around as the service areas reopen, deploying all of them to Modena as they're freed up so that the work can go faster?  The projected reopening date on the site hasn't changed either, so it seems like that might just be an excuse.

Meanwhile, DeWitt and Pattersonville look ready to reopen while Sloatsburg looked like it has a ways to go when I was there a couple weeks ago.  This is interesting as Sloatsburg is projected to have a Q3 reopening, just like Pattersonville, while DeWitt is projected to have a Q4 reopening.  Did they put in the wrong dates?

[Jim]

Last week, the Pattersonville SA looked just about ready to go.  Some of the parking lot fencing was down and the lot looked to be freshly paved and striped.  This week, the parking area is partially torn up.  I guess it's not as close as I thought.

[MASTERNC]

Sloatsburg is now open.  First time I've seen a Dunkin' and a Starbucks in the same location.

https://www.thruway.ny.gov/news/pressrel/2024/09/2024-09-10-sloatsburg-opens.html

[vdeane]

Sloatsburg is now open.  First time I've seen a Dunkin' and a Starbucks in the same location.

https://www.thruway.ny.gov/news/pressrel/2024/09/2024-09-10-sloatsburg-opens.html

Interesting.  I would not have expected that given that there was still a hole in the wall where the parking garage was as of three weeks ago.

[Buffaboy]

NYSDOT... do you guys know when the NYSTA will be installing lights on I-190 through Buffalo? I have to drive that stretch at night every weekday and I feel like I'm driving through a third world country. Every city's downtown has lights on their freeways.

[Rothman]

NYSDOT... do you guys know when the NYSTA will be installing lights on I-190 through Buffalo? I have to drive that stretch at night every weekday and I feel like I'm driving through a third world country. Every city's downtown has lights on their freeways.

Where'd you hear this was a thing?

[Jim]

So far this week on my rides past Pattersonville, I can see that the parking area has been paved again and it looked like some parking spots were being striped again.  Maybe it will be all torn up again by the end of the week, we'll see.

[vdeane]

So far this week on my rides past Pattersonville, I can see that the parking area has been paved again and it looked like some parking spots were being striped again.  Maybe it will be all torn up again by the end of the week, we'll see.

I wonder if something failed inspection the last time.

[Buffaboy]

NYSDOT... do you guys know when the NYSTA will be installing lights on I-190 through Buffalo? I have to drive that stretch at night every weekday and I feel like I'm driving through a third world country. Every city's downtown has lights on their freeways.

Where'd you hear this was a thing?

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/190-drivers-being-left-in-the-dark/71-990e57d2-c33c-479f-babd-a2e527071f6e

[Snappyjack]

NYSDOT... do you guys know when the NYSTA will be installing lights on I-190 through Buffalo? I have to drive that stretch at night every weekday and I feel like I'm driving through a third world country. Every city's downtown has lights on their freeways.

Not sure what the NYSTA policy is, but I know that per the DOT, municipalities are responsible for highway lighting.

And not to split hairs, but the Albany area has zero highway lighting, downtown or otherwise.

[Rothman]

NYSDOT... do you guys know when the NYSTA will be installing lights on I-190 through Buffalo? I have to drive that stretch at night every weekday and I feel like I'm driving through a third world country. Every city's downtown has lights on their freeways.

Where'd you hear this was a thing?

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/190-drivers-being-left-in-the-dark/71-990e57d2-c33c-479f-babd-a2e527071f6e

Ah, the lighting.  Thought you were talking about signals.

[SignBridge]

NYSDOT... do you guys know when the NYSTA will be installing lights on I-190 through Buffalo? I have to drive that stretch at night every weekday and I feel like I'm driving through a third world country. Every city's downtown has lights on their freeways.

Where'd you hear this was a thing?

https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/local/190-drivers-being-left-in-the-dark/71-990e57d2-c33c-479f-babd-a2e527071f6e

Ah, the lighting.  Thought you were talking about signals.

Well not sure if Buffaboy meant every city in New York State or everywhere in the USA. When I visited Los Angeles (2nd biggest city in the country) back in the 1990's they did not have freeway lighting in the city except some lighting around interchanges.

[Buffaboy]

Interesting. Didn't realize it wasn't ubiquitous.

[webny99]

The eastbound Thruway is currently closed between Exits 41 and 40 due to a major crash. It is easily the worst possible location for a closure on the entire Buffalo-Syracuse stretch (as I outlined in this rather insane post), and there are predictably major backups on the Thruway at Exit 41, NY 318, NY 5/US 20 through Montezuma, and NY 31 in Port Byron.

The lack of turn lanes on 5 & 20 at NY 90 is something NYSDOT and NYSTA should consider coordinating to resolve, as it creates major problems any time there's an incident on the Thruway.