Route 17B to be paved this summer

Bethel businesses speak out

By CHRIS CONROY

BETHEL — At an emergency meeting of the Bethel Business Association on May 21, local business owners and town officials discussed the impact the planned summer paving of 17B will have on the town.

Many business owners became concerned when they learned of the project second hand, and even more concerned as rumors began to develop.

The meeting, attended by about 30 individuals, focused mainly on clearing up rumors that had begun to circulate. Jim DiCarlo, owner of Friend’s Pub in Smallwood and other members of the association board met earlier in the day with New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) officials.

Discounting rumors, DiCarlo said the work that will take place on Bethel’s main road will not lead to the widening of the road, nor will it ever completely close the stretch of road from exit 104 in Monticello to just before McKean Real Estate in Bethel.

Having only learned of the planned work nine days before the meeting, the association contacted the DOT and voiced their concerns. With the help of local officials and the Governor’s office, the association will continue to monitor the progress of the highway paving, which is set to begin after Memorial Day with ditching and drainage installation at the base of the hill east of White Lake. Two weeks later, paving will start. Section by section, 17B will receive a new coat of black top and the shoulders of the road will be repaired, leveled and paved.

“They [the DOT] promised delays of only three to five minutes,” DiCarlo said. If delays become detrimental to the steady flow of traffic, the DOT will be contacted and work will be rescheduled as much as possible to alleviate the delays. The association has already informed the paving crew of a handful of dates when extra-heavy traffic is expected. Little or no work will take place on those days.

Roadwork is scheduled to take place from just after Memorial Day to just before Labor Day, but the project may be finished before August. Work will take place from Monday to Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.