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The New York State Thruway Authority said the work will take place in Ulster and Orange counties on Saturday, Jan. 20 on the southbound side beginning at Exit 18 in New Platz to Exit 17 in Newburgh.
The lanes will fully shut down to all traffic at 8 p.m. Saturday, for at least 12 hours so contractors can safely remove the damaged Brookside Road overpass over the southbound lanes, weather permitting, the Authority said.
The section of the overpass above the northbound lanes was successfully removed last weekend. Motorists should seek alternate routes while this work takes place or avoid travel in the area during these times, if possible.
The southbound Thruway is expected to reopen the next morning, with traffic reduced from two travel lanes to one travel lane through the construction zone.
All southbound traffic will be detoured at exit 18 in New Paltz. The detour between the exits for traffic traveling southbound is 24 miles on local roads (see map). Motorists can follow the posted detour to eastbound Route 299 for five miles when they will turn right onto Route 9W south.
After approximately 16 miles, vehicles will turn right onto Route 32 North, then turn left to enter I-84 West and should follow the signs to I-84 exit 36A to enter the southbound Thruway at interchange 17 (Newburgh - Scranton - I-84 - NY Routes 17K and 300).
During this work, both travel lanes in the northbound direction between exits 17 and 18 will remain open except in the construction zone, where the left lane will be closed.
Closed to traffic since May, the Brookside Road overpass has been hit by over-height vehicles 10 times in the past year and 28 times since 2019. These repeated collisions have resulted in considerable damage to the steel that supports the overpass and decreased the amount of weight it can safely carry, the Authority said.
Inclement weather could cause this work to be rescheduled.
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