Bear Mountain Parkway Construction to Start Soon

The public is invited to attend a meeting Thursday evening during which officials will discuss the Bear Mountain Parkway Project that's aimed at making the roadway safer in Cortlandt and Peekskill.

With a completion date of May 2014, construction will begin soon, the New York State Department of Transportation said in a press release Tuesday.

Here is a list, as provided by the DOT, of the planned improvements:

• Reducing the speed limit to 45 mph within the project limits
• Installing two miles of median barrier from 1,100 feet east of Division Street to Locust Avenue
• Retaining two eastbound travel lanes on the long grade from east of Highland Avenue to past the Route 6 interchange, with an 18-foot-wide westbound single lane to accommodate emergency vehicles
• Replacing the signal at Carhart Avenue and adding dedicated left turn lanes, new sidewalks and crosswalks
• Providing one lane in each direction with five-foot shoulders and a flush striped median between Locust Avenue

Thursday's meeting (Sept. 5) is taking place at 7 p.m. at Cortlandt Town Hall (1 Heady Street). DOT officials will provide information about the project and the schedule. They'll discuss the impact of the construction, too.

The safety improvements come after the loss of five lives in eight years; along with petition efforts and persistence from local officials. About five dozen people attended a March meeting about the project, which is slated to cost just under $3 million.