Seven Chautauqua and Cattaraugus County roads are among the 115 miles of road included in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's N.Y. Works Program.
"Governor Cuomo's N.Y. Works program speeds up our bridge and highway reconstruction efforts and puts people back to work," said Joan McDonald, state transportation commissioner. "The traveling public will see nearly twice as much highway work than just last year. We ask motorists to be patient and drive carefully through construction zones."
Construction has begun on the first N.Y. Works transportation improvement projects three months after Cuomo signed the 2012-13 budget allowing funding for the projects to move forward. NY Works focuses on improving pavement that is in fair condition and bringing it to good condition. The preventive maintenance work will better preserve the state's infrastructure and guard against the need for more costly, in-depth construction. Bundling project sites within close geographic locations into a single contract enables the state Transportation Department to lower expenses and obtain lower bids.
As part of both construction contracts, the existing asphalt pavement will be milled off and new asphalt will be overlaid on the road. The new pavement surface will provide a smoother, safer riding surface. Signal loop detectors that are impacted will be replaced and pavement markings will be restored.
Construction has begun on a $3 million contract to resurface a total of 33 miles of state highways at seven locations in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties. The construction contract was awarded to Northeast Paving of Lancaster, Erie County, and work is expected to be completed this fall.
The paving work will begin on 5.1 miles of Route 39 between the Cattaraugus County line and the Perrysburg west village line in Cattaraugus County. Work will then progress to an additional six locations:
Route 39 from Perrysburg west Village line to Jolls Road in the village of Perrysburg, Cattaraugus County - 5.5 miles;
Route 62 from Route 322 to Church Street in the town of Dayton, Cattaraugus County - 10 miles;
Route 353 from the Cattaraugus south village line to Waverly Street in the village of Cattaraugus, Cattaraugus County - 1.6 miles;
Route 62 from Interstate 86 to the Shermerhorn Corners/Route 394 split in the town of Poland, Chautauqua County - 5 miles;
Route 305S from Route 417 to the Pennsylvania line in the town and village of Portville, Cattaraugus County - 4.2 miles; and
Route 417 from the north Portville village line to Portville-Eldred Road in the village of Portville, Cattaraugus County - 2.3 miles