Harckham Demands NY Spend More On Road Repairs In the Hudson Valley

SOMERS, NY — Route 118 needs long-term repairs, New York State Senator Pete Harckham said during an inspection of recent work done on Route 118 in the Shenorock section of Somers.

The roadway has been badly damaged by this winter’s erratic weather conditions, which created numerous potholes; and heavy use by motorists has exacerbated the problems with the roadway’s surfaces, he said.

“I thank the crews of the New York State Department of Transportation for their hard work in resurfacing the worst parts of Route 118,” Harckham said.

However, he added, "While the repairs are welcomed by those of us who drive on this road, I will continue to fight for sustained long-term investments in our infrastructure, which has deteriorated after years of neglect."

Last month, Harckham and other elected officials voiced their opposition to a proposed $60 million cut in the Consolidated Local Street and Highway Improvement Program funding in the Executive FY2024-2025 State Budget.

Harckham had already called for an additional $2 billion in the state budget for state Department of Transportation highway improvements.

A 2022 NY DOT Highway Pavement Conditions report shows that Hudson Valley roads are in the worst condition of all regions in the state.

The roads in the transportation department’s Region 8 scored only 43.2 percent in the Good to Excellent Condition category, he said. Meanwhile, the statewide average for the Good to Excellent Condition category is 57.9 percent.

In fact, he said, while Region 8 has the most lane miles and number of bridges of any NYS DOT Region, it only receives the third-highest amount of funding.

Pete Harckham represents the 40th Senate District, which includes the towns of Carmel, Kent, Patterson and Southeast, and the village of Brewster in Putnam County; the town of Stony Point in Rockland County; and the city of Peekskill, the towns of Bedford, Cortlandt, Lewisboro, New Castle, North Salem, Ossining, Somers and Yorktown, the town/village of Mount Kisco, and the villages of Briarcliff Manor, Buchanan, Croton-on-Hudson and Ossining in Westchester County.