Those who pass through the intersection of Providence Avenue and River Road in Niskayuna the intersection near the Craig School and the Schenectady JCC will soon see improvements paid for with federal stimulus funds.
Improvements will also be made to the heavily traveled Rosendale Road. Chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, announced Sunday, May 31, that Schenectady County will be getting $1.9 million in federal stimulus money to repair 6.5 miles of the county roads that run through the Town of Niskayuna.
`I want to thank Gov. [David] Paterson for providing this important funding through the federal stimulus plan,` said Savage in a written statement. `The investment in these projects will put people to work in these tough economic times and provide safe roadways for our residents.`
The funding will be provided in the form of two grants. The first grant of $1,440,000 will be used for the resurfacing of Providence Avenue and River Road, covering more than 4 miles of road. The second grant of $373,000 will be used for resurfacing Rosendale Road, covering 1.76 miles. These roads were chosen because of their high traffic volume of 8,000 to 15,000 vehicles per day.
`Those are ongoing projects,` said Niskayuna Supervisor Joe Landry. `We’ve been pushing for those [improvements] for years.`
Both grants will pay 100 percent of the costs for bidding the project, asphalt resurfacing, road painting and guiderails. No county or town funds will be required. All of the work will be done by private contractors, and bids will be released in July.
Savage said that with every road project comes a traffic plan. Work will be done to ensure minimal interruption to drivers as they travel Rosendale Road, Providence Avenue and River Road.
`It’s one of the ways stimulus dollars are going to work,` said Savage. `People are seeing how federal stimulus dollars are being used, so this shows that [some of the money is] being used in our own community.`
She said that the road repairs achieve two things: safer roads and also the assurance that people are working in these `tough economic times.`
Bidding on the project is subject to federal regulation. It is not yet known who will be contracted to work on the project or where they will come from, but Savage said she expects the work to be completed by August.
`I live there, and obviously my neighbors and I all travel through that area, so we want to make sure it’s very conducive to not only public safety but also to not overly inconvenience the people who use the road,` said Savage. “