The state Department of Transportation will likely be making some changes in the Village of Round Lake and in Maltaville over the next two years, as it prepares for what effect the arrival of a 1.3-million-square-foot microchip manufacturing facility in Malta will have local traffic.
Area residents braved wintry conditions to pack the Round Lake Firehouse on the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 18, to hear tentative plans for roads around the Luther Forest Technology Campus and also to receive an update on the construction of the Round Lake Bypass, which will divert traffic around the hamlet.
DOT Regional Program and Planning Manager for Region 1 Robert Hansen was on hand to present the department’s preliminary thoughts on roadwork and, along with several of his colleagues, to field questions from the gathered residents.
Most of the interior roads at the Luther Forest Technology Campus, where the factory will be located, are to be completed within the year, as is the Round Lake Bypass. The 1.6-mile road will link the Northway to LFTC and feature a roundabout at its terminus, at the intersection of routes 9 and 67.
In addition to that roundabout, DOT officials are also proposing the installation of such a loop at the intersection of Route 9 and Stone Break Road, where construction traffic for the site will travel.
They’re safer than signal light intersections, said Hansen. `It’s safer for people to cross than a big expanse of pavement.`
The bypass is on track to be completed in August. The construction of the roundabout will require a detour via Easy Street in early June, but the contractor should be finished within 17 days, said Hansen.
`Our intent is to get out before July 1, when the racing season starts,` he said.
Roadwork on Easy Street itself will take place in April.
Though residents were not opposed to roundabouts themselves, several were concerned with how the changes would affect their ability to get around and the aesthetic impact on the area.
Hansen stressed that most plans were not set in stone, and that getting things right is always a `balancing act.`
Part of that delicate process will be creating cul-de-sacs on several roads that currently run into Route 9. Old State Road and Maltaville Road are proposed to be terminated in this fashion to eliminate possible shortcuts that trucks or commuters might take to Luther Forest.
`It is our feeling that more people would be using it for shortcuts,` said Hansen. `You’re looking at more traffic in the area,` once the Foundry microchip factory opens.
The cul-de-sacing of Maltaville Road is part of efforts to create a `gateway` to Round Lake on Route 9 that will feature stylish stone signs welcoming visitors.
DOT has not yet committed to plans to retool many of the roads. Representatives will continue meeting with residents and officials, said Hansen, and with the exception of the Round Lake bypass, the schedule is to complete plans by the end of the year and finish construction in 2010.
According to Town of Malta Supervisor Paul Sausville, the DOT agreed to share their preliminary plans with residents in hopes of creating a dialogue early on.
`Every time that we have gone to them and asked them to come out and give information on a snowy evening, they have done so,` said Sausville. `They have been responsive in many ways.`
9P bridge gets weight restriction
In other Department of Transportation news, the DOT recently placed a weight restriction on the Route 9P bridge that crosses the northern portion of Saratoga Lake. Effective Wednesday, Feb. 25, vehicles over 15 tons will be prohibited from using the bridge.
An inspection last year led to the restriction, according to DOT spokesman Peter Van Keuren.
`We found further deteriorating in some elements of the bridge,` he said. `Often when that occurs, we have to take some kind of action.`
Passenger cars, buses and emergency vehicles (including fire trucks) will still be able to use the bridge. Tractor trailers will essentially be the only traffic affected and will have to find another route around.
The 85-year-old bridge is scheduled to be replaced, with construction starting in spring of 2010 and a new bridge in place in the summer of 2011. The cost of the project is estimated at $12.6 million.
Van Keuren emphasized that the bridge is still safe to travel on, but advised truckers to take heed of the restriction.
`If vehicles in excess of 15 tons use the bridge, it will just speed up the deterioration,` he said.“