The State Department of Transportation (DOT) is planning to reverse a deadly trend by installing barriers along a stretch of Route 17 in Orange County.
The $10 million project is aimed at decreasing the number of fatal car crashes along Route 17, from the I-84 interchange in Middletown to the NYS Thruway in Harriman. Earlier this month, two parents were killed and their infant daughter critically injured in a head-on crash on Route 17 in Chester. Police say there have been other fatal head-on crashes on the roadway in recent months. Officials hope the barriers will prevent similar collisions.
The DOT bumped up the timetable on the project by two years. Construction is expected to begin in the spring. The DOT will also look into lowering the speed limit from 65 to 55 mph on that stretch of road.