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Route 213 Detours Concern Residents and Businesses

ROSENDALE � State Officials deemed Route 213, between Cottekill and Binnewater Roads, in the area of The Century House Historical Society and the adjacent slopes, to be unstable. Rosendale Councilwoman Manna Jo Greene believes the cause to be an underground aquifer that leads from a large pond on the old A.J. Snyder Estate that has been compromised by recent weather conditions. Earlier in the month, the road was closed to one lane, and on March 11 both lanes were closed to all but local traffic.

A detour is rerouting vehicles from state Route 213, and some homeowners are unhappy with the lack of information as to when this project will be completed.

Concerns from Rosendale Main Street businesses have also been raised as detour signs by the Rosendale Stewarts and other locations say, "Local Traffic Only." According to Vision of Tibet shop owner, Kathryn Culley, "At least when the Route 32 bridge was being reconstructed, the signs said Main Street businesses were open, not distracting shoppers from coming into the town to eat or shop." She has noticed a drop in business.

Rosendale police cars and other law enforcement vehicles can be seen on all points of the detour, in addition to a portable electronic speed sign on Sawdust Avenue erected to make motorists aware of how fast they are going on a road whose speed limit has always been 30 miles per hour.

According to Rosendale Town Supervisor Patrick McDonough, "Sawdust Avenue has always been a place where drivers went over the speed limit." He said in past years, one telephone pole had to be replaced five times from poor negotiation on the road's curvy footprint. "This detour has only made it more evident that the drivers are going too fast � and the police have been there to protect the residents' safety."

According to Rosendale Highway Superintendent Carl Horbeck, people are calling into his department with complaints; however, he said, "It's not a town road, so we are telling people to call the state as it's a state project and something they had already planned but with the recent rains they started it earlier than planned. It's putting people out of convenience but it has to be done. We have no knowledge as to when it will be done and the Department of Transportation [DOT] is doing the best they can with the present weather conditions. They have regulations that they have to abide by, so it takes time and people must be patient."

When the detour was first announced, the DOT listed a car detour, which takes Sawdust Avenue, and a truck detour, which is rerouted elsewhere. (See designated detours listed below.)

Superintendent Horbeck said, unfortunately, although there is a detour for trucks, "you can't stop the large vehicles from traveling the back roads because it's a public highway; and that's been a complaint from the residents."

The Route 213 project will include the reconstruction of the wall at the top of the slope, requiring stabilization prior to bringing in heavy construction equipment and workers and accessing the repair area. This will be achieved by slope stabilization and filling in the former D&H Canal with crushed stone and benching the top of the slope. Department officials said the repairs will not degrade the integrity of the historic nature of the D&H Canal's original stonework and landscaping with indigenous foliage will blend in with the environment. The project has also been said to include replacement of an existing culvert identified as eligible for National Historic Record status due to its original construction in 1916.

State Detours have been designated as such:

  • Cars should travel Binnewater Road to Sawdust Avenue to Cottekill Road and back to Route 213.
  • Trucks using Route 213 East should, preferably, take U.S. Route 209 North to state Route 28 East to Col. Chandler Drive to state Route 32 (Broadway, Kingston), and back to Route 213.
  • Trucks using Route 213 West should, preferably, travel North on Route 32 to Col. Chandler Drive in Kingston to Route 28 West to Route 213 South and back to Route 213.



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