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New York State Releases Scoping Report on Planned Upgrade To 30-Mile Stretch of Highway in Orange and Sullivan Counties
New York State has completed the scoping report for a project to enhance safety and mobility along a 30-mile stretch of State Route 17 in Orange and Sullivan Counties. This future project — which is still in early design and environmental review stages — will help reduce instances of motor vehicle crashes, provide greater access to all users of the transportation system, improve resiliency and clear the way for the roadway to obtain federal interstate designation.
The scoping report is an important step in the environmental review process that documents the evaluation of preliminary concepts and identifies those to be studied further. Several potential improvements, including additional lanes and the construction of new roadways at key locations to better separate through-traffic from exiting and entering vehicles, are among the alternatives being advanced for detailed study. State Route 17 ties together the Mid-Hudson, Catskills and Southern Tier regions.
“Like so many of our bridges and highways, State Route 17 is a product of the mid-20th Century that no longer meets the needs and demands of 21st Century New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said.
The State Route 17 Mobility & Access Improvement Project involves improvements to the stretch of State Route 17 between Exit 113 in Wurtsboro, Sullivan County, and Interstate 87 in Orange County.
As part of the scoping process, the New York State Department of Transportation, in partnership with the Federal Highway Administration, solicited input from the public, stakeholders, and involved agencies on the project needs, project concepts, and scope of issues to be addressed for the project. NYSDOT expects to publish a Draft EIS for the project in 2025.
One alternative would retain State Route 17’s existing two-lane mainline layout throughout most of the corridor while adding interchange auxiliary lanes between Exit 130 and Exit 130A and new collector-distributor (C-D) service roads from Exit 120 to Exit 122 and from Exit 122A to Exit 124.
A second alternative calls for the construction of a third travel lane from Exit 120 (State Route 211) to Exit 130A (U.S. Route 6) in addition to new auxiliary lanes and C-D roads.
Read the Scoping Report on the Department of Transportation Website
Investments in the Mid-Hudson Valley have already resulted in the expansion of Woodbury Common Premium Outlets and the construction of LEGOLAND and Resorts World Catskills Casino.
Funding From Inflation Reduction Act Goes To Plant Trees and Increase Community Forest Resiliency in Disadvantaged Communities
New York State announced an additional $5.4 million in grant awards for Urban and Community Forestry Grants funded through the Federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The funding expands on $7.1 million previously awarded, bringing the total amount awarded to $12.5 million. The awards support Governor Hochul’s 2024 State of the State initiative to plant 25 million trees by 2033, recent commitments through the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, and other New York State investments to expand tree canopy and cultivate greener, healthier communities.
Several upstate communities have been awarded funding, including the City of Kingston which received $240,824; the City of New Rochelle: $6,600; the Village of Athens: $237,335; and Orange County Parks and Recreation: $63,154.
“Investing in community green space is a significant step towards revitalizing our cities and towns, and ensuring a sustainable, resilient future for all New Yorkers,” Governor Hochul said. “These investments will help to provide cleaner air and water to every corner of our state, and move us closer to achieving our climate goals.”
The grants are administered through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Urban and Community Forestry program, which works to increase public awareness of the importance of trees and helps communities create healthy forests while enriching quality of life for residents.
Funding for this grant is made available through the state allocation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service through the IRA.
Six Hudson Valley Colleges Make Best In America List
U.S. News & World Report released its 2025 Best College Rankings and six Hudson Valley institutions made the cut. The rankings of 1500 colleges and universities use more than a dozen metrics to determine the best of the best.
One metric utilized in the rankings was social mobility – surviving college with manageable debt and post-graduate success. Others include student experience, best value, most innovative, and commitment to undergraduate teaching.
Rockland County’s Dominican University Of New York in Orangeburg placed at 329 in the university category.
Hudson Valley liberal arts colleges ranked as follows:
- United States Military Academy at West Point, West Point, No. 8 (tied)
- Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, No. 12 (tied)
- Bard College, Annandale on Hudson, No. 71 (tied)
- Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, No. 108 (tied)
- Purchase College, Purchase, No. 136 (tied)
The rankings are both a source of pride and frustration for schools, parents and students. Over the years, different applied metrics have skewed the rankings depending on the weights given each metric. This year, with the promotion of social mobility, U.S. News put additional weight on retention and graduation rates for people with need-based Pell grants which enabled many public institutions to rise in the ranks displacing high-ranked private colleges.
The rankings first debuted in 1983. US News mothballed its print magazine and went all-digital in 2010.
