Shortage supply issues slow down Hudson Valley construction projects

Problems with rising costs and a shortage of materials are not only impacting what we buy, they're also slowing down construction projects in our communities.

News 12 Staff

Nov 10, 2021, 10:57 PM

Updated 989 days ago

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Problems with rising costs and a shortage of materials are not only impacting what we buy, they're also slowing down construction projects in our communities.
People who come through Fort Montgomery to see the fall colors on weekends are faced with traffic on the bridge heading to the Palisades Parkway. Two lanes are down to one because of construction.
Highlands Supervisor Bob Livsey says it would be one thing if it was short-term, but he says nothing has happened for more than a year.
"They claim they can't get the parts," he says.
It's a state Department of Transportation project, and emails News 12 has obtained show it is dealing with supply shortages.
It's a problem nationwide - a ripple effect from the pandemic that includes congestion at ports and not enough trucks to move goods - all along with a demand for supplies sky high.
Greenburgh Public Works Commissioner Rich Fon says the shortages are causing astronomical price increases.
"We got some estimates for a water tank. It should have been $3.5 million. It was coming in at $8 million," says Fon.
What other projects are being held up in the Hudson Valley? News 12 reached out to more than 75 local government leaders in Westchester, Rockland and Orange counties.
A sidewalk project is paused in Ardsley. It took six months to get a police car in Tuckahoe. They've been waiting months for parts at a Yorktown playground, and a Yonkers water system repair project is delayed.
Fon believes this is a problem nearly every city and town are facing.
"We fix things. We repair things. And if we can't get the materials or the contractor to do the work, it's very difficult," says Fon.
He says he hopes it normalizes in about a year.


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