Dangerous 684

LETTER TO

Lance MacMillan PE,Acting Regional Director, NY State Department of Transportation, Region 8, 4 Burnett Boulevard,Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Dear Mr. MacMillan,

As a resident of Katonah and, like you, a New York State Professional Engineer, I am writing to remind your department of the unsafe, and in places dangerous, condition of approximately 1.5 miles of road surface on multiple lanes of I-684 and the end of the Saw Mill Parkway, between Harris Road and Route 35.

I have examined the roadway carefully. Enclosed are photographs I made on August 18thof this year, showing just one part of the seriously degraded road surface that is contiguous to the most densely populated section of 684 between White Plains and Brewster, including its most heavily trafficked intersection.

As you are likely aware, the concrete roadway shown in the pictures has not been re-surfaced in almost 50 years since its construction around 1969, while all of the rest of 684 has been surfaced with new asphalt, much of it quite recently.

The roadway condition is so unsafe that Katonah’s Fire Chief recently felt the need to write a letter (enclosed) to State Assemblyman David Buchwald explaining how its condition poses a danger to police and firemen responding to accidents.

Katonah and surrounding residents are daily reminded of the deteriorated roadway condition by the noise of car and truck tires on the protruding aggregate, wide cracks and potholes.Two years ago,

325 Bedford Town residents signed a petition of complaint to Governor Cuomo. Not only residents but also thousands of traveling motorists are affected.

As long as 15 years ago, the DOT was telling the Town of Bedford that re-surfacing the roadway must await a study of the entry and exit lanes involving SMRP and Rt. 35 connections. No study has ever been completed.

The study-delay excuse underwent a welcome change two years ago when your predecessor Todd Westhuis expressed a desire to find a solution (September 28, 2016 letter enclosed). He participated in a meeting in the Bedford Town Hall with other DOT officials and Westchester elected officials, including the now County Executive George Latimer. Out of this meeting grew a general agreement that an interim asphalt overlay was warranted. Not long afterwards, State Assemblyman Buchwald was informed that the DOT had allocated $6 million to perform the work. Last year, however, the funds were diverted to another DOT project -- the agreed-upon asphalt surfacing left undone, a distressing outcome.

Even if conducted now, the completion of an interchange study and its recommendations would take years to complete. Thus New York State should reinstitute the previously agreed-upon interim plan to resurface the roadway.

A high-friction asphalt overlay is urgently required for the following reasons, documented in the photos accompanying this letter:

• The roadway was built in 1969 using old specifications and materials.
• The existing pavement is worn down and has lost the majority of its cement finish and texture thereby reducing fiction.
• The existing aggregate is polished. When wet, it becomes slippery with low friction.
• The pavement has many large unsafe potholes, with loose pieces of concrete that can become projectiles. The process of pieces breaking loose is continuous.
• Large full-depth pavement cracks allow water to get under the roadway causing uplift or settlement.
• Failed pavement joints have caused the concrete to break apart requiring large asphalt patches that do not hold up to traffic.
• Sections of the existing shoulders have deteriorated creating a path for water to get under the pavement. It is unsafe when used for a disabled vehicle.
• The worn pavement with low points increases ponding of rainwater hazardous to moving vehicles at high speed.

Your urgent attention to this matter is appreciated.

Respectfully yours,

Peter Nardone, PE (petrosus27@optonline.net)