'It's chaos.' Unauthorized roadwork reversal in South Blooming Grove leads to traffic nightmare
The area in question is an increasingly busy stretch of Route 208 near Mountain Road.
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Drivers say the recent reversal of some unauthorized roadwork on a state road in South Blooming Grove has turned an intersection into a roadway nightmare.
The area in question is an increasingly busy stretch of Route 208 near Mountain Road.
“It’s chaos,” says motorist Romeo Warren.
“Chaos” that includes reports of accidents, videos of unsafe driving, and on Thursday, a photo of car stuck in fresh dirt in between orange cones.
News 12 received several complaints about the conditions, including reports of traffic delays and backups.
“It took me 40 minutes to get from here to the gym across town a couple days ago,” Warren says.
Town of Blooming Grove Supervisor Robert Jeroloman says the Village of South Blooming Grove took matters in its own hands and put a passing lane in for motorists to drive around vehicles making a left-hand turn at the intersection.
The problem is that the Department of Transportation says the work was never approved by the state and was unsafe, so it was removed. Village leaders haven’t returned News 12’s emails for comment but posted on Facebook Thursday that there were three accidents in 36 hours near the intersection and that they’re working with the state to find a solution.
Village documents from 2021 obtained by News 12 show the state tried to fix the problem years ago and asked leaders to donate land to widen route 208 but the request was denied.
“Something has to be done,” says Warren. “It’s crazy.”
“It’s problematic. There’s a lot of volume on this road,” says Al Foglietta, who frequently drives through the area for work. “I’m sure it wasn’t that way 20 years ago. It is now.”
A representative for the DOT tells News 12 the state is working on a solution and will inform the community of updates.
"A future project is planned at this intersection, which will be put out to bid next year with a traffic study commencing in relation to this project. In the interim, NYSDOT is actively exploring potential remediation options under the highway work permitting process."
