Update: Route 434 Safety Widening

By Carol B. Sweeney, Town of Owego SupervisorThe Route 434 Safety Widening Project is no longer on hold. This project begins at the Route 17 Exit 66 Interchange and continues east to the Broome County line. Construction of the project will be broken into two phases. The first phase is scheduled to begin in the spring of 1998. This phase will be limited to the westbound lanes of Route 434 only. A new continuous left turn lane and 1.8 m. (6 ft.) of shoulder will be constructed through the length of the project.

Construction of phase 2 of this project is scheduled to begin in the spring of 1999. This phase will construct right turn lanes and six-foot wide shoulders on the Route 434 eastbound lanes. This phase of the project is one year later due to the time required to acquire the additional right-of-way needed. The six-foot wide shoulders will accommodate bicyclists. At the eastbound right turn lanes, a through bike lane will be located adjacent to the through lane, not on the shoulder. Phase 2 of the Safety Widening Project will be combined with the Susquehanna River Crossing Project.

The New Susquehanna River Crossing Project is on schedule for a March/April 1999 letting. (A letting is the opening of bids with the award of the contract to be done within 45 days of the bid opening.) The bridge is being designed in-house by the central NYSDOT offices in Albany to save both time and money. The two NYSDOT regions involved in this project have agreed on how to divide up the funding for this project. This bridge will most likely take two construction seasons to build and be ready for traffic sometime in the fall of the year 2000. It definitely appears that this area's long wait for a new river crossing will soon be over!

Additionally, another new traffic light is scheduled to be installed on Route 434 at the Route 17 westbound ramps. This light will be operational in the fall of this year or in the spring of 1998.

This area of the town will be undergoing some major changes over the next several years. However, when the construction is all complete, this area will be safer and much more accessible.


©1997 Apalachin Community Press