Saw Mill River Parkway To Close...For A Week

[x635 4,066]

The Saw Mill River Parkway in Pleasantville will close next Monday, for a week. This is for flood repair, which in my opinion is much needed. However, this fix doesn't seem to me like it's going to work very well, as has been proven in the past, and there are other temporary fixes that should be tried. It's still a mystery to me why they don't resume maintaining the river, something that would clearly help to reduce the severity of this issue when you consider all the silt and debris that the river has in that area due to development and increased runoff. But this is the same agency that doesn't even reconize that the whole Saw Mill Parkway, north of Marble Ave to I-684 and in between Elmsford and Hastings, is completly falling apart and is in need of a massive overhaul....something the DOT says won't be done until at least 2012! 2012? Have they seen the Parkway recently? How can it last that long? Aren't they concerned that the parkway lacks many safety features, and it's poor and poorly kept condition is posing a safety hazard to everyone who travels it? I still don't understand, until then, why they can't even fill a large pothole on the Saw Mill, not to mention even on busier roadways, such as I-287 or I-684? What about guardrail repair, or even removing debris from the roadway? Looking next door to CT, I cannot understand why our road surfaces cannot be cared for better.

Best wishes for the Pleasantville residents and commuters affected by this action.

Here's hoping for some temporary relief.

Saw Mill River Parkway to be closed for flood repair

By LEN MANIACE

lmaniace@lohud.com

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original publication: May 4, 2006)

PLEASANTVILLE — Some 50,000 cars that travel the Saw Mill River Parkway each day will face a detour Monday when a quarter-mile stretch in the village is rebuilt to reduce flooding that chronically closes the road.

The parkway is scheduled to be closed in both directions beginning at 6 a.m. and is not expected to reopen until late Friday. By that time, workers should have laid down enough asphalt to raise the road surface by 6 to 12 inches between the parkway's Marble Avenue and Manville Road exits.

Though no one is thrilled that the major commuter road will be out of commission, the parkway's shutdown is a familiar fact of life for drivers and residents of this compact village. Since 2003, the highway has been closed more than two dozen times when heavy rains caused the nearby Saw Mill River to overflow.

"I think it will be no different than when the Saw Mill floods," said Stacy Thomas, the owner of Pleasantville Antiques at 10 Marble Ave. From her shop, Thomas has a front-row seat for each shutdown when a flood of cars pour off the parkway and edge their way north to the Grant Street entrance.

"Then it's hard to get across the street and even pull out of a parking space," Thomas said yesterday.

Pleasantville Mayor Bernard Gordon said he hoped congestion won't be as bad as when the parkway floods.

"It's going to be closed the same way as with flooding, but now we are forewarned," said Gordon, who repeatedly raised the issue of parkway flooding with state officials.

Pleasantville and state officials are hoping to coax northbound motorists off the parkway before they reach Marble Avenue, preventing the usual near-gridlock in the village. Among the moves, state transportation officials have issued detour recommendations that urge motorists to exit the Saw Mill for the northbound Taconic Parkway, then take Route 117 eastbound, eventually back to the parkway at Grant Street.

"People are going to have to be very patient with this," said Pleasantville Police Chief Anthony Chiarlitti, who planned yesterday to check on mobile message boards that will carry detour information along the parkway.

Some commuters already are planning for congestion. Pleasantville Village Administrator Patricia Dwyer, who lives in Mount Kisco, said she would take Route 117 instead of the parkway for much of her trip to Village Hall.

"I go this way whenever there is a heavy rain overnight and a chance of flooding on the Saw Mill," Dwyer said.

State officials cautioned that the project could be delayed a week or more by a forecast of heavy rain during key periods of the work.

"If it's raining while we are putting the median barrier back, it might be unpleasant, but it won't stop us. We can't have rain while we are putting the asphalt down or putting the stripe on," said Wallace Pishtey, a supervising engineer with the state Department of Transportation.

State officials are calling the $250,000 project a temporary fix. They have resorted to this technique repeatedly to raise the road surface, which eventually sinks into a 60-foot-thick layer of soft, boggy soil. So much asphalt has been piled on flood-prone areas of the roadway that it's 6 feet deep instead of the usual 1-foot thickness.

Engineers ruled out leaving some lanes open while working on other lanes. That's because the highway lacks a median lane or shoulders to accommodate re-routed traffic at a safe distance from workers, Pishtey said.

"If we tried to keep it open, we would be out there a lot longer getting the work done. Besides it would be a hazard to workers," he said.

Long-term solutions to flooding that have been discussed previously include deepening the Saw Mill River and resuming a maintenance program to clean debris from the riverbed.

[348 4]

Ct roads are not something to brag about, but still better than the highways in WC

[x648eng119 2]

You'd think with all the serious accidents that happen in that area of the parkway they'd do something. Unfortunatley, nothing will happen until one of the family members of the higher-ups in the DOT are killed or injured there. Its a sad reality.

[Guest x2371]

It is going to be a response nightmare for both Pleasantville FD and VAC. Not so much for the apparatus, but the members tring to get to the rigs. You may hear a lot of mutual aid, depending on the time of day. Lets hope it is a quiet week for us both.

[Porsha911gt3 8]

You'd think with all the serious accidents that happen in that area of the parkway they'd do something. Unfortunatley, nothing will happen until one of the family members of the higher-ups in the DOT are killed or injured there. Its a sad reality.

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Wait a sec, its not just the family of the DOT it is any higher up in the town that has enough say (MONEY). Take for example the reason that the crossing on the Taconic were shut down in Dutchess County. Did they need to be shut down, yea probly but the real reason that they were shut down was one of the School officials family members ran the stop sign at carpenter road and got killed, but even though there were several others killed there it took someone with enough "status" to be affected then the whole word stops for them. Good old world we live in.

[tunaFish 0]

Well, as a frequent traveler of the SMP, let's hope for the best. Let them correct this problem with the flooding and then maybe down the road, they will work on other issues. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

[ajsbear 11]

We must not forget someone was killed in the recient past when a tree fell on a moving car. Then they trimed back some of the trees. Look at the Bx River Parkway. It's listed as one of the most dangerous in the US. Some areas have no guard rail. With the oversized SUV's there are areas that you cannot get 2 vehicles next to each other. Look at areas on 9A. Many of our roads are in sad shape. They were not designed for the ampunt of traffic on them today or some of the monster size vehicles. It's time the DOT revised their rebuilding plans. Just putting new blacktop down is not the answer. In addition we all knowif they even start today on the Saw Mill it would probably take 2, 3 maybe 4 years before its finished.

[BedfordFire 7]

Does anyone know what the long term plan is and how much it would cost, or when it would be done? And when the SMRP floods in that section- how long does it take for the water to subside, and how high does the water get?

[dadbo46 50]

Take it from somebody in "The Know."

It's not about "who" got killed but how many accidents there are at a particular location and how severe they were.

Over the last 15 years, NYSDOT maintenance staff has been reduced by nearly 30%. Ever notice the DOT plow trucks with wing plows are operated by one man now ? It used to be 2 men.

And, most importantly, it's all about the $$ ! And if anybody says that's it's not about the $$$......IT'S ALL ABOUT THE $$$.

[grumpyff 1,159]

Pville 2371 wrote, "It is going to be a response nightmare for both Pleasantville FD and VAC. Not so much for the apparatus, but the members tring to get to the rigs. You may hear a lot of mutual aid, depending on the time of day. Lets hope it is a quiet week for us both.

Definitley going to extend response times for members. I think if you get any alarms at rush hour, it will also slow the apparatus. That is due to the heavy amount of traffic, and they will have no where to go, for an a piece of apparatus to get by. Not so much Manville Rd, But Bedford Rd from Memorial Plaza to the 7-11.

On another note,How will this added pavement affect the already low bridges at Bedford Rd and Manville Rd? 2371, will Pleasantville/Thornwood apparatus still fit underneath these bridges once the roadway is raised, given the higher travel height of the new R47/E91?

Good luck, hopefully the week will have nice weather and a low number of alarms.

Edited May 5, 2006 by grumpyff

[IzzyEng4 427]

Ct roads are not something to brag about, but still better than the highways in WC

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DITTO

[Guest]

Traffic backing up around Saw Mill River Parkway

By THE JOURNAL NEWS

FROM STAFF REPORTS

(Original Publication: May 8, 2006)

Len Maniace

The Journal News

PLEASANTVILLE — Motorists were doing their best to travel the detours set up for this morning's shutdown of the Saw Mill River Parkway.

A quarter-mile stretch of the parkway was closed between Manville Road and Marble Avenue to allow workers to add 6 to 12 inches of asphalt and stop frequent flooding on the four-lane highway.

By 9 a.m., traffic was backed up on the southbound side of the parkway and motorists stuck at the Manville Road exit said their trip had taken an extra 10 to 15 minutes.

"For the first day, I don't think it is that bad and in the long run it is going to help," said Mandeep Sobti, a Chappaqua resident.

Less happy was Paul Lacombe. At 8:30, steam begin rushing from the hood of his white Mercedes. After a few minutes, two highway workers came by and pushed him out of traffic just after cars started honking.

Orange and white traffic barrels were in place before 6 a.m., shutting down the parkway in Pleasantville for what is expected to be five days of construction.

Elena Chlachidze got off the parkway at Manville Road, where a police officer was directing traffic. It looked like people were finding alternate routes, she said.

"It's not bad," said Chlachidze, who was headed to Scarsdale, where she works as a dental assistant. "I live in Bedford Hills and it was actually better than usual."

But the detour got one motorist from Yonkers lost.

"I'm trying to get to Thornwood but there's no way to get there," Don Periana said. "I keep going around in circles."

In any event, fears of gridlock in downtown Pleasantville proved unfounded.

"I imagined it would have been stopped bumper to bumper," said Jennifer Rosenberg-Tulchin, who said traffic nevertheless was a little heavier. She was on Bedford Road, walking her children to Pleasantville Elementary School.

School officials had urged parents to walk their kids instead of driving them this week and people appeared to be heeding the advice.

"The people I just crossed usually drive," said Irene Houben, a school crossing guard.

Since 2003, the parkway has been closed more than two dozen times when heavy rains caused the nearby Saw Mill River to overflow. Potential long-term solutions to the flooding include deepening the river and resuming a maintenance program to clean debris from the riverbed.