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Lawmakers blast 'deplorable' I-90 roads in Seneca Nation

U.S. Rep. Tom Reed said without improvements, 'there is no question of the liability and those who should be held accountable.'

IRVING, N.Y. — U.S. Rep. Tom Reed held a news conference Thursday afternoon to address the condition of I-90 as it runs through the Seneca Nation.

The message: "This road is in deplorable condition," he said.

Later, Reed said "we are serving prior written notice of the defective condition of this roadway so that, if and when, God forbid, someone gets injured or killed as a result of this defective condition, that there is no question of the liability and those who should be held accountable."

Reed was joined by Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello, Assemblyman Andy Goodell and Assemblyman Joe Giglio.

An arbitration panel, which previously ruled the Seneca nation has to pay up on lapsed casino payments to the state, determined the amount to be more than $255 million in April.

The Seneca Nation of Indians released this statement:

“The Seneca Nation has regularly approved resolutions that provide for routine maintenance of roadways that cross our territories, but the repair work needed on these roads goes far beyond routine maintenance. Thousands of travelers, most of whom are non-Seneca, travel these roads every day. The longer the needed repairs are not completed, the more dangerous the situation becomes for all travelers.”

Read accused Governor Cuomo in particular for, as he put it, jeopardizing public safety as a bargaining tool with the Senecas.

When 2 On Your Side asked about this, the governor's office told us we should contact the Thruway Authority.

When we did that, it told us nothing different than what it has in the past that it's working with the Seneca on a solution, without disclosing what the problem might be.

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