'A daily hazard.' Mayor implores state to fix dangerous stretch of Route 9A
Drivers - and even some officials - call the conditions dangerous.
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There's an urgent push for improvements on Route 9A in the Briarcliff Manor/Ossining area - a busy stretch of road in Westchester.
Drivers - and even some officials - call the conditions dangerous.
"I mean it's just a daily hazard," said Briarcliff Manor Mayor Steven Vescio.
Mayor Vescio is imploring the state to take immediate action on this stretch of road.
He recently sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul about it.
"I write today to implore New York State to take immediate and significant actions regarding the deplorable roadway conditions of NYS Route 9A through Briarcliff Manor and Ossining. As I have outlined in prior correspondences to NYS, this roadway has all the features of a 1930s parkway, yet is expected to function as a modern-day commercial corridor with significant heavy commercial traffic," said part of the letter.
"We have to get this project done before there's another terrible incident," Vescio told News 12.
Vescio says he's seen far too many of those terrible incidents in the area.
"The biggest thing of course is the bridges that are undersized. The trucks literally can't fit under the bridge, if they're in the right lane and in the past nine months, we've had five bridge strikes at the Pleasantville Road Bridge alone," Vescio explained.
That's not the only concern.
"The drainage is undersized because it's almost 100 years old. There's only a metal barrier, a guiderail in between oncoming traffic, which is always damaged. You can see the dead trees right there, they've been there for years," said Vescio.
Vescio has been pushing for improvements here for years.
News 12 previously reported on his efforts.
"We sent another letter to try and get the state to really prioritize this project," said Vescio.
Officials with the New York State Department of Transportation sent News 12 the following statement:
"The New York State Department of Transportation is advancing a project to enhance safety and mobility along the State Route 9A corridor and the Department is committed to engaging with our local partners as we continue with the design process. In the meantime, NYSDOT continues to review conditions on the roadway – including the status of trees along the roadway’s right-of-way - and provide maintenance as needed. Safety is always NYSDOT’s top priority."
