SALAMANCA, N.Y. — If you live in or travel to the Southern Tier be prepared for a detour for a major highway in the region.
We're talking about Interstate 86 in the area of Salamanca. The state DOT says it must perform a significant repair project on that highway on very short notice.
Starting Thursday morning, a portion of Interstate 86 will be closed. It's about a six-mile stretch between Exits 23 and 24. That is from Route 219 junction over to the Allegany exit.
2 On Your Side spoke with two leaders in one affected community along the detour on Route 417 who feel they didn't get much notice.
Electric sign boards are now up warning of the highway closure and detour set to start Thursday at 7 a.m. And traffic signals were being adjusted in the rain for an entrance road intersection with Route 417.
This is all in preparation for the replacement of a culvert due to significant soil erosion on this portion of I- 86. That's again between the Route 219 junction and the Allegany exit.
That designated detour on Route 417 has the town of Carrollton officials concerned. That's especially as it gets darker sooner for perhaps unfamiliar drivers going from the high-speed highway to a rural curving two-lane side road. Carrollton Highway Superintendent Michael Fox says there are some significant curves on the road and blind spots. He adds, ''Being an EMT with our fire department, I'm very concerned about the amount of traffic and just people not paying attention and slippery roads It could be a recipe for some really bad things to happen."
Carrollton Town Supervisor Bob Rinfrette says he just learned late last week about the road work and detour. He says, "Just issues we gotta work out. Weather, traffic, congestion - you know fires. The main thing is they do enforcement and keep people doing the speed limit. God forbid we should have any kind of an accident or something - be a problem."
The DOT says this estimated five-week-long project could be weather-sensitive with potential delays in the project schedule. That prompted Fox to ask "Why would you wait until the end of October and go right into the...through Thanksgiving and everything through the holidays and shut down a major highway? Why wasn't this addressed earlier in the year?"
The Olean Times Herald reports the erosion near the culvert under the highway just got worse than expected forcing the quick replacement.
We did not hear back yet from a DOT spokesperson.
Cattaraugus County Emergency Management Director Chris Baker says he scheduled a meeting for local fire departments, EMS, state police, county sheriff's deputies, and Seneca Nation Marshals for Tuesday evening to make sure they have emergency access plans and contingencies worked out.
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