Just when you thought local road projects were winding down, the New York State Department of Transportation has started a major undertaking that will affect stretches of Route 590 and Route 104 in Irondequoit.
The purpose of the project, which will cost $7.8 million and continue into next summer, is to improve the pavement and ease congestion.
“The reason it costs so much is because there’s so much pavement,” said Lori Maher, a spokeswoman for the state DOT.
The contract for the project was awarded to Sealand Contractors Corp. of Rush late last month. Work, which will largely be done in the overnight hours, was expected to get under way early this week.
Sealand is also the contractor on the nearly complete reconstruction of the 1.8-mile stretch of the former Route 590, now Sea Breeze Drive, from Titus Avenue in Irondequoit, north to Lake Ontario and Irondequoit Bay. That project included the installation of four roundabouts.
The new project is designed to upgrade a stretch of Route 590 from Norton Street to Titus Avenue, and a stretch on Route 104 from Culver Road to the Irondequoit Bay Bridge, including all ramps to and from Route 104 and the Ridge.
During the project, and in an effort to alleviate some of the congestion and associated accidents that occur at the Route 590/104 interchange, crews will restripe the pavement markings on Route 590 northbound and southbound to better accommodate existing traffic volumes.
Northbound Route 590 will be striped to provide two-lane exit ramps to Route 104 westbound. Southbound Route 590 will be striped to improve the merging point where Route 104 westbound enters Route 590 southbound.
“We’re not reconfiguring the whole roadway or widening it, but we are changing the striping so that it might help ease congestion,” Maher said. “We’ll be trying to make better use of the pavement width already out there.”
The primary purpose of the preventative maintenance project is to rehabilitate and extend the service life of the pavement by milling and paving.
The project also includes installation of new overhead signs and guide rails as necessary.
The first couple of weeks of the project, going on now, will largely consist of pavement repairs on Route 590 southbound between East Ridge Road and Norton Street, Maher said, then switch to the Route 590 northbound lanes for a few weeks before milling and paving begins.
The 2011 schedule calls for paving work to continue on Route 590 and on Route 104 as well as the installation of the new overhead sign structures.
