State Asked to Build Route 9A Bypass
upon the route, with the town paying about 25 percent. The blue option has the lower cost of $5 million;
the red option at a greater cost of $10-20 million.
By Jon Craig
State transportation officials are being asked to resurrect a decades-old plan to reduce truck traffic and accidents along Route 9A in Greenburgh by moving the 9A bypass proposal to the top of the state’s priority list.
On Monday, town officials said the long-sought state project should be launched in tandem with county plans to complete a north-south trailway for bikers, runners and walkers. The final link of the public pathway runs parallel to the proposed 9A bypass route.
In a resolution passed July 15 by the Greenburgh Town Board, and in letters sent this week to state legislators and the New York Department of Transportation commissioner, the DOT is being asked to approve the multi-million dollar project to reduce congestion along Route 9A in Elmsford and Ardsley and Route 9 in Tarrytown. The truck route becomes particularly hazardous during storms and flooding that result in traffic jams and detours on adjoining parkways.
Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner said building a new 9A spur linking truck traffic to Interstates 87 and 287 also would “increase the potential for sound economic development.”
Town officials have committed at least $4.3 million for the project in Greenburgh’s long-term plans. The money was collected through real estate taxes on new development. Feiner said that fund can be supplemented by $300,000 annually and that the town could seek voter approval of a bond issue.
“A working group of local business leaders, the town, county, state legislators and neighboring communities are working together on this important project,” Feiner said in a letter sent to county business leaders and state officials, including Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti. “We hope we can count on your leadership to make this priority happen.”
The Town of Greenburgh’s recently released draft comprehensive plan cited several economic development initiatives that could result from implementation of a 9A bypass that Feiner has been lobbying for since at least 2006.
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