As we all know, traffic in North Rockland is getting worse but there are a number of new jobs in the offing that will help reduce the strain. The problem is getting the job done in a reasonable and organized manner. Some of the most recent infrastructure jobs in both Haverstraw’s lacked some finishing touches, like detour signs and flagmen, which would boost the cost of the job. We know it only takes one bad flagman, or lack thereof, to put traffic to a standstill.  We mentioned here before the need for local government require at least a barebones traffic plan in all bids and we hope they heard us.

What worries me is that the biggest projects haven’t started. Farley Bridge, Short Clove Rd, The Ferry Dock, and Gurnee Ave all have yet to be awarded, and our most recent experience here in North Rockland wasn’t pretty. The Old Rt 210 job in Stony Point was a low bid gone bad. The PIP exit 13 debacle is another bid issue, or some such thing, and we are left with a real mess. It takes strong, well funded companies to manage the costs of these multimillion jobs, and the bidding reflects this to a certain degree. The problem is that the State is blind at times to the way the companies intend to complete the job. Look at the Tappan Zee deck job. The contractor had to take into account the weight and size of the panels in every facet of the job, but he still made arrangements with a sub-contractor to avoid the expense, taxes, and fee’s related to over-dimensional moves, and they got caught doing it.  I guess its the contractors job to cheat and the taxpayers job to catch them.

Either way, the bids for Short Clove are in and there is a $6 million gap. There is no way we as a community should just accept this without getting a real good look at the differences. This job, if it goes bad, could cause major traffic issues in North Rockland and it deserves a close inspection from all of our elected representatives.

Read the Bid Sheet

Route 9W, Elimination of Railroad Grade Crossing of Short Clove Road over CSX, relocation of Short Clove Road including the construction of a new intersection and two new bridges (concrete) and reconstruction of Route 9W, Village of Haverstraw.

THE DELANEY GROUP   $24,124,000.09

ECCO III ENTERPRISES $30,253,000.00

BEN CICCONE INC $31,917,799.60

A SERVIDONE     $33,695,451.80