July 01, 2009

The first Westchester County project funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act broke ground July 1 in Yonkers with the demolition of parts of the Odell Avenue Bridge.

Westchester County Executive Andy Spano, Ross J. Pepe of the Construction Industry Council, unions and representatives of Congresswoman Nita Lowey and the State Department of Transportation were on hand to mark the event.

PCI Industries of Mount Vernon was awarded a $2.2 million contract to rebuild the aging bridge over the South County Trailway as part of federal stimulus funding designed to put America back to work and stimulate the national economy.

“This project is the first of five that we hope to start work on during the summer,’’ said County Executive Andy Spano. “These projects are expected to create 98 jobs and stimulate the local economy so they will benefit all county residents, regardless of where they are located in the county. We want to thank Congresswoman Nita Lowey and all our federal representatives for helping to bring this money to Westchester.’’

Congresswoman Lowey said, “I fought for federal assistance for these investments because they will create jobs and ease travel for commuters in our region. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will help turn around our national and local economy and the improvements in our infrastructure will pay dividends for years to come.  I am pleased the first project in Westchester County funded by the federal stimulus is under way.”

“Westchester County, its Department of Public Works and New York State Department of Transportation are to be congratulated for their excellent collaboration in bidding this and other stimulus projects soon after federal funds were available," said Ross J. Pepe, president of the Construction Industry Council of Westchester & Hudson Valley, Inc. "This is what Congress envisioned in 'shovel-ready' projects, creating instant jobs in a declining economy and improving the safety and efficiency of our infrastructure."
  
Westbound traffic and all pedestrian access to the bridge will continue for the duration of the project.

A detour route for eastbound traffic will be posted as follows: Nepperhan Avenue, south to Roberts Avenue, left to Old Nepperhan Avenue and left to Saw Mill River Road. Police will be on-hand to assist traffic.

For additional information, contact Westchester County Department of Public Works, Traffic Division at (914) 995-2555.

Four other projects - including the installation of new street lighting for the Bronx River Parkway, upgrading 60 traffic signals, and replacing guard rails on county roads – will follow this summer.

The county has requested funding for dozens of other projects from the $787 billion federal stimulus package including money for upgrading county sewage treatment plants in New Rochelle and Mamaroneck. The county is pursuing a total of $71 million in stimulus funding for job creation, and a variety of energy saving, transportation and environmental improvement projects.

The following are a list of other construction projects expected to start in August:

Bronx River Parkway Street Lighting - This $304,018 project will install 21 street lights on the Bronx River Parkway at four intersections: Virginia Road, Parkway Homes Road, Fisher Lane, Old Tarrytown/Cemetery Road, and add 1 additional street light pole at Strathmore Road. 

Traffic Signal Controller Replacements - This $262,641 project will replace traffic signal controllers  and upgrade various communications equipment items to interface with the new controllers. This upgrade will be carried out at all county maintained traffic signals in locations throughout Southern and Central Westchester.

Traffic Data Sensors - This $569,826 project will install wireless traffic data sensors on the Bronx River Parkway to provide real time volume, speed and travel time data at eight locations

Guide Railing Replacement - This $738,860 project will replace approximately 30,000 feet of guide railing, on five county roads. The rail will be replaced on Central Westchester Parkway in White Plains, Playland Parkway in Rye, Polly Park Road in Harrison, Long Ridge Road in Bedford and Midland Avenue in Tuckahoe.
The Odell Avenue bridge between Nepperhan Avenue and Saw Mill River Road in Yonkers will be closed to eastbound traffic starting on Wednesday, July 1 at 9 a.m. and continuing until early September.

This closure is due to a bridge replacement project of the structure that carries Odell Avenue over the South County Trailway. This project is funded by federal stimulus funds as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The construction portion of the project was scheduled for the summer months when traffic volumes are lower and school traffic will not be disrupted.