'Somebody will get hurt.' Senior citizens struggle to navigate pipeline construction
The trucks and bulldozers were still using the detour Tuesday despite several signs.
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Pipeline construction in Stony Point is affecting more than just the revenue of local businesses – it’s also disrupting the lives of senior citizens in town, who are struggling to navigate the traffic and confusion.
Stony Point Diner owner Archie Kyriacou has been trying to look out for his regulars. Many are older and move slowly. Kyriacou has recorded several minor crashes and close calls with pedestrians at 9W and Lowland Hill Road.
He said the juncture right in front of the diner is not currently safe for many seniors.
"A 90-year-old lady comes in here and sees this. What do you want her to do? She's never coming back," Kyriacou said.
Contractors working on the Champlain Hudson Power Express hydropower pipeline have been bringing large semitrucks down Lowland Hill Road to detour around the Route 9W bridge northbound closure, which is the main reason for the congestion.
CHPE contractors had planned to finish pipeline work on the bridge prior to this school year, but complications with the design extended the closure until at least the end of October.
The New York State Department of Transportation tried to ease the chaos by blocking out a buffer zone by the diner and making Lowland Hill Road one-way, cars only.
"They just put this up because I've been calling for three weeks, saying 'death trap, death trap, death trap,'" he said. "You've got 18-wheelers barreling down here."
The trucks and bulldozers were still using the detour Tuesday despite several signs. In one of Kyriacou's videos, a truck driver exited his cab to move cones to make room for him to pass through.
Diner regular "Ralphie" did not want to deal with the detour Tuesday, nor the parking lot. He parked down the street and walked to the diner. He said that was not safe either.
"I almost got hit by a car the other day," he said. "It's terrible what they're doing. Just terrible. If this weren't my best diner to come to, I wouldn't come here anymore."
Neither NYSDOT nor CHPE project leaders commented for this story.
Town Supervisor Jim Monaghan told News 12 that the detour confusion is one more reason why the CHPE project has been a "disaster" for the town. He said the town is in close contact with NYSDOT as the agency considers other traffic changes to make the area around the diner safer.
