By Dan Hust
BLOOMINGBURG — April 1, 2005 – U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey announced yesterday that they will hold a press conference today at the Quickway Diner in Bloomingburg to propose widening Route 17 to three lanes in both directions.
The Congressmen plan to utilize casino revenue to partly finance the expansion, which would include at least the Bloomingburg-to-Monticello portion of Sullivan County’s Route 17, slated to become Interstate 86.
The politicians are worried that five casinos’ worth of traffic will lead to worse bottlenecks than exist now on the mostly two-lane divided highway, and they will also call for a renewal of the state’s funding to convert 17 to 86.
Joining Schumer and Hinchey at the 12:45 p.m. press conference will be Orange County Executive Edward Diana, Sullivan County Legislature Chairman Christopher Cunningham, other officials, and labor leaders.
See the full story in Tuesday’s Democrat.