Construction of energy pipeline through North Rockland may be cause of sharp increase in blown tires
Drivers and car repair technicians said Wednesday construction of the Champlain Hudson Power Express pipeline might have something to do with a sharp increase in blown tires on Route 9W in Stony Point and Haverstraw.
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Construction of an energy pipeline through North Rockland appears to be affecting more than the suffering businesses News 12 has been reporting on.
Drivers and car repair technicians said Wednesday construction of the Champlain Hudson Power Express pipeline might have something to do with a sharp increase in blown tires on Route 9W in Stony Point and Haverstraw.
During an interview with the staff at Professional Care Auto Repair about the constant tire repairs after trips on Route 9W, another customer arrived with a screw in his tire.
The customer said the screw punctured the tire just as he was crossing the area's main drag.
Construction of the CHPE — which will run hydropower from Canada to New York City beginning in 2026 — requires much equipment and materials to dig beneath 9W.
Drivers said they have had difficulty navigating sharp items in the street, rocks, wooden stakes with points and the steel plates that are secured by protruding bolts.
A car repair tech at Professional Care said the staff has been fixing eight or nine flat tires a day.
"We get a lot of nails, a lot of bolts. Sometimes we'll have big bolts, like that size in tires," auto repair tech Anthony Charles said, showing his finger to indicate the size of some bolts.
Staff at Professional Care and another nearby repair shop both said their increase in tire repair or replacement jobs has coincided with the CHPE construction.
The shop is also located a few hundred feet of a construction staging area.
"It's definitely because of the construction site," Charles said. "It's gotta be from that. There's no way else."
Some drivers thought construction materials might be sliding down a slope onto Route 9W near the Stony Point /Haverstraw border.
A spokesperson for the CHPE project said Wednesday in an email that anyone who has tire damage believed to be caused by construction materials should call the CHPE hotline at 800-991-CHPE (2473).
"CHPE has a closely monitored active hotline where anyone with concerns about project construction can reach out and receive a response within 24 hours," the spokesperson wrote. "We have received only two requests to file claims to repair tires, both of which were promptly handled by a member of our outreach team."
