Town moves forward with Seven Springs Road realignment

The town of Monroe is moving forward with its Seven Springs Road Realignment Project.

The project is slated to cost approximately $4,665,468.36, which is set to be paid by its petitioner, Bakertown Holding II LLC.

Following a public hearing, where a few residents voiced some positive opinions on the road realignment, the Monroe Town Board passed a motion at its July 13 meeting designating the project as being in the best interest of the public, and moved to have the project reviewed by the town’s engineers.

Project aimed at addressing safety concerns

During the public hearing, individuals on behalf of Bakertown Holding II LLC, who is the petitioner for this project, spoke about the scope of the project, which they hope addresses some safety concerns along the road. Aaron Warner, an attorney from Zarin & Steinmetz, said the primary goal is to address safety conditions by adjusting the horizontal and vertical alignment of the roadway. The section of road to be addressed starts at the intersection of Seven Springs Mountain Road and goes to the area north of Lanzut starting at “G” road. That section is approximately 1,950 feet.

Philip Grealy, an engineer from Colliers Engineering & Design, stated that the project would not only improve safety conditions, but will improve traffic conditions and the potential future utilities that may be developed, including a proposed sidewalk. Traffic lights and stop signs were also brought up as a way to prevent dangerous speeding along the road once realigned.

Roadwork needed to create entryway into proposed development

Bakertown Holding owns real estate along the stretch of Seven Springs Road that is proposed to be realigned. According to Monroe Town Supervisor Maureen Richardson, there is a proposed development in that parcel, and the road would need to be repaired in order to have an effective entryway into the proposed development. According to Joel Mann, the applicant who spoke on behalf of Bakertown Holding, the proposed development would be 600 units, but is still in the early stages of the proposal process.

While the Town of Monroe controls the section of roadway, the properties to the east of the road belong to Kiryas Joel. According to the information available in the project files, the section of Seven Springs Road was never dedicated to the Town of Monroe, but the petitioner would be willing to dedicate that stretch of road to Monroe if they approve the requested improvements.