Rockland lawmakers: Fix PIP potholes

Two state lawmakers from Rockland say it's about time the state fix the Palisades Interstate Parkway north of Exit 10.

Deep unavoidable potholes along the 17-mile stretch are "creating unsafe conditions and putting lives in danger," said Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski, D-New City.

Zebrowski and Assemblyman James Skoufis, D-Woodbury, have written to the Department of Transportation asking for immediate repairs to the potholes between New City and the Bear Mountain traffic circle. At the very least, they said, the DOT should add the work to its five-year Transportation Improvement Plan.

"Potholes are so numerous that they are virtually unavoidable," the lawmakers wrote in a Feb. 18 letter to the DOT, which is responsible for the parkway in New York. "Some potholes are so deep that the concrete subsurface is exposed. These unsafe conditions are damaging vehicles and endangering lives."

DOT spokeswoman Gina DiSarro said there are no plans to fix the parkway's northern section this year.

Decisions about capital projects for upcoming years have not yet been made, she said.

Zebrowski and Skoufis said major improvements haven't been made to the parkway in nearly 15 years, and those only addressed the roadway from the New Jersey border to Exit 10. They noted traffic volume has "increased dramatically" since that rehabilitation.

"The condition of this area of the Palisades is deplorable and the people of north Rockland and eastern Orange County that travel the parkway should not have to wait any longer or suffer from any more blown tires," Skoufis said in a statement.

At least parkway drivers no longer have to worry about facing a cavalcade of potholes in New Jersey. That state's transportation department spent $11.2 million last year fixing and repaving an 11-mile section, stepping in for the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, which lacked the funds for the work.

About 22 million to 24 million cars travel the Palisades parkway each year.

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