Route 17 through Sloatsburg has been under construction now for months due to the Western Ramapo Sewer District project that goes all the way to the county line.

Road bumps, potholes, construction stops – Sloatsburg’s old main drag feels like it’s been a construction zone for a long time now.

The Western Ramapo Sewer District project (under the authority of Rockland County Sewer District #1) has certainly created upheaval for area residents, as well as all those commuters speeding through Sloatsburg on their way somewhere fast. But sewer construction is a messy, complete with heavy machinery, tons of materials and a plodding pace. The rock in Rockland County adds a whole other element to the job – namely, blasting through granite on busy roadways.

Route 17, as you are aware, runs through the Village of Sloatsburg and is an important dynamic for the village…. I am respectfully requesting that you consider repaving all four lanes through the village. Repaving half one year and the other half next year is not an ideal solution for the village.    — Letter from NYS Senator David Carlucci to NYS DOT

Kathy Kahn, writing for the Rockland County Times, recently reported on the extreme local “agita” many are experiencing living in and around a village that seems to be a construction zone.

But all the agitation will pass, just as it did for residents in the Flats neighborhood of Sloatsburg, or those off Washington Avenue, or the people in Pine Grove Lakes, who experienced the blast of sewer construction along the Village’s hilliest streets.

All those areas now have smooth black streets and recovering yards where connections to the sewer system took place.

With Route 17 sewer construction scheduled to be complete by year’s end, the Village of Sloatsburg has been working behind the scenes to ensure that once Route 17 sewer construction ends, the road is made not only made whole again but made better. In spring, the Village advocated with the New York Department of Transportation to pave all of Route 17 when construction is complete.

The original Sewer District agreement with Metra Industries only called for Metra to repave any blacktop that was disturbed by construction. While most Sloatsburgers are anticipating that Route 17 will be repaved from curb to curb, that was not the original plan.

This past spring, the Village met with Metra, the Sewer District and NYDOT officials to advocate repaving the whole of Route 17.

Citing budget constraints, the NYDOT said it could pave two lanes in 2017, and the final two lanes the following year. New York State Senator David Carlucci then entered the negotiation on behalf of Sloatsburg. Repaving half one year and the other half next year is not an ideal solution for the village.

Senator Carlucci wrote a July 7 letter to the DOT District 8 Director Todd Westhuis requesting that the DOT repave all four lanes of Route 17 at one time rather than two lanes one year and two lanes the following year.

To date, the decision is under consideration by NYS DOT Region 8 officials.

Sloatsburg residents who want to show support for the repaving of all four lanes of Route 17, at one time and at the earliest opportunity, should consider writing to the following (be cordial, be kind, be positive):

New York State Department of Transportation      
Region 8 Director                                                      
4 Burnett Boulevard                                                 
Poughkeepsie, NY 12603