Byway to superhighway: Route 17 hits the gas
 
Route 17 starts in Pennsylvania and winds to Exit 16 in Orange County where it meets the New York State Thruway. The former two-lane highway that once brought millions of visitors to the Borscht Belt is now undergoing a radical makeover from country road to an Interstate thanks to the state Dept. of Transportation and local funding that has gone into the project along the way.
The Hudson Valley to Pennsylvania corridor has been touted as a vital business artery that will jumpstart industry in the region and make commuting less miserable for the millions who have moved here since the original Route 17 was built during the Great Depression.Â
Connecting with I-87, which is in the final stages of linking with Interstate 84 in Newburgh, the projected $405 million upgrade will turn Route 17 into I-86. Federal input was unavailable at press time.
Construction commenced on the conversion more than a decade ago. While 195 miles are Interstate ready, funds have dried up along with the rest of the economy.
As of now, two sites are fully funded: Exit 120 in Wallkill and Exit 131 in Woodbury. Work is under way at both locations, with road widening and new toll booths being installed at the Route 17-Thruway connecting point at Exit 131
The Exit 120 project, awarded to Lancaster Development of Richmondville for $63 million, has been under way for several weeks.
For Wallkill Supervisor John Ward, the 64-square-mile town will benefit from the work being done to bring Route 17 up to Interstate standards, calling it a boon to the entire mid-Orange County corridor.
“We will finally have a connecting road between the Galleria Mall and Orange Plaza,” said Ward. “Right now, to get from one side of the highway to the other, you have to go through seven traffic lights to go a quarter-mile. This will alleviate a lot of the road congestion on Route 211 and also free up Exit 122, which is used to get to either one mall or the other.”
Ward said the town approved the bonding for the bridge work to connect the two malls separated by the highway in 2006.Â
Exit 122, where the state completed bridge work over the Wallkill River more than a year ago, has become a bustling medical corridor, and the new Orange Regional Medical Center, the first hospital built in the state in 30 years, is expected to open its doors in 2011 on East Main Street. Hospital administrators hope Exit 122, with its dangerous on/off ramps, will be scheduled for its needed upgrade before the hospital opens.
“Crystal Run Road (accessed by Exit 122) is becoming a huge hub for medical practices,” said Ward. “On the east side, we”™re going to have a new hospital. We certainly need this work done as expeditiously as possible, not only to free up traffic on Route 211, but to make the area more attractive to businesses. With Medline moving to Wawayanda, the Wakefern property is going to be empty again. We”™d like to see someone commit to it; this changeover is going to greatly enhance its potential for new commercial use.”
Ward is not the only one hoping the connectivity will attract business. For the Catskills, bringing old Route 17 to Interstate standards may mean smoother sailing for visitors and prove a business attractor. Louis Cappelli”™s Sullivan County-based Entertainment City, scheduled to open by the end of January 2010, “is not dead,” declared town of Thompson Supervisor Tony Cellini, “and we”™re going to see it happen.”
No recession recovery funds have been allocated to the Route 17 conversion. For a complete overview of the changeover from Route 17 to Interstate 86, visit HYPERLINK “http://www.dot.state.ny.us” dot.state.ny.us.