The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) has begun construction on their flood resiliency project in Oswego County which is part of New York State's Lake Ontario Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI).
The project received approximately $1.3 million in funding to improve the drainage and enhance public safety by providing a safer roadway that does not require closure due to flooding. This also includes includes improvements to sections of County Route 89 in the Town of Oswego.
The agency noted flooding that occurred in 2019 in sections of County Route 89, which cut off residents from their homes and forced emergency vehicles to re-route.
The Governor Andrew Cuomo, as a result of the "historic" flooding, created the REDI program in early 2019 to combat an “extended pattern of flooding” along the shores of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River.
Five REDI Regional Planning Committees comprised of representatives from eight counties (Niagara, Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Cayuga, Oswego, Jefferson, St. Lawrence) work to identify “at-risk” infrastructure and public safety concerns.
The County Route 89 project’s flood mitigation measures also include:
- Replacing the existing culvert with a larger culvert to increase drainage;
- Reconstruction and elevation of flood prone sections of the roadway;
- Minor profile adjustments to the roadway; and
- Installation of new guiderail, signs, and pavement markings.
“By enhancing the resilience of our transportation network with strategic investments like this, we help keep people and goods on the move, despite the impacts of severe weather,” noted NYSDOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez in a press release.
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Source: AASHTO
