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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 13-14

February 7, 2013

CONTACT:

Adam Bosch (845) 334-7868 / Chris Gilbride (718) 595-6600

Department of Environmental Protection Announces Completion of Roadwork Projects in Delaware and Ulster Counties

Additional work planned for 2013 to maintain roadways around reservoirs

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced the completion of work on 10 miles of roadways around City reservoirs in the Catskills. The roads serve as key thoroughfares in the communities where they are located, and as critical infrastructure that allows DEP staff to access reservoirs and protected lands. The roadwork included two projects:

  • DEP completed work along 2.2 miles of New York City Highway 30A in the Town of Colchester. This work was done through an intergovernmental agreement with the Delaware County Department of Public Works (DPW). The county DPW performed work that included repaving, guide rail replacement, road striping, and drainage improvements. The work cost $1 million.
  • DEP also made substantial improvements to 7.9 miles of Route 28A east in Ulster County. The stretch of improved roadway runs through the towns of Hurley, Marbletown and Olive. The project included milling and re-laying the existing asphalt with a rejuvenating agent. The process, known as “hot-in-place recycling,” allows the road to be rejuvenated without incorporating unnecessary loads of new material. This spring, workers will return to seal and stripe the roadway. The initial phase of work cost $650,700. Previously in 2012, DEP completed a $15 million project on a different section of Route 28A. That work included realigning the highway, construction of turning lanes, and drainage improvements. In addition to making roadway improvements, DEP enhanced visibility for drivers by removing trees that obscured views of oncoming vehicles. Additional space was also added along the shoulder of the roadway to improve safety for joggers and cyclists. The Five Pines public access area at Monument Road was also expanded to include more parking near the Olive Bridge Dam and crosswalks were added to enhance safety for pedestrians.

“These road improvements are important to the City and to our neighbors in the watershed,” DEP Commissioner Carter Strickland said. “Maintaining a steady schedule of road maintenance ensures that our thoroughfares are safe and passable for all who use them.”

In 2012, DEP announced that it would invest $10 million over the next decade to improve roadways throughout the watershed. DEP maintains and operates 95 miles of roadways in the Catskill and Delaware Watersheds. Because regular road maintenance is a cost-effective and efficient way to maintain infrastructure, DEP plans to continue rehabilitating roads in the watershed in 2013.

DEP plans to enter into a new intergovernmental agreement with Delaware County, which could lead to another 2.2 miles of road improvements on NYC Road No. 4 near the Shavertown Bridge. DEP is also planning roadwork in Schoharie County this year, where it will repave 2.72 miles of Route 990V along the northern perimeter of Schoharie Reservoir. That project is expected to start this summer. The repaving work will keep the road in good condition until the year 2018, when it's scheduled to undergo a more rigorous reconstruction coinciding with the completion of rehabilitation work on Gilboa Dam.

DEP manages New York City’s water supply, providing more than one billion gallons of water each day to more than nine million residents, including eight million in New York City, and residents of Ulster, Orange, Putnam and Westchester counties. This water comes from the Catskill, Delaware, and Croton watersheds that extend more than 125 miles from the City, and the system comprises 19 reservoirs, three controlled lakes, and numerous tunnels and aqueducts. DEP employs nearly 6,000 employees, including approximately 750 scientists, engineers, surveyors, watershed maintainers and other professionals in the upstate watershed In addition to its $68 million payroll and $153 million in annual taxes paid in upstate counties, DEP has invested more than $1.5 billion in watershed protection programs—including partnership organizations such as the Catskill Watershed Corporation and the Watershed Agricultural Council—that support sustainable farming practices, environmentally sensitive economic development, and local economic opportunity. In addition, DEP has a robust capital program with a planned $13.2 billion in investments over the next 10 years that creates up to 3,000 construction-related jobs per year. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/dep, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nycwater, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/nycwater.

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