The Next Big Thing

I took a spin out the just-opened County Route 202 this morning, just hours after Jefferson County took the wrapper off, and I have to say, it has to be one of the finest four-lane highways in the north country. And when I drove over it, it still had that new-road smell.

County Route 202, you may remember, was designed to ease some of the traffic congestion on Route 3/Arsenal Street; it connects to Route 12F west of Salmon Run Mall’s Coffeen Street entrance. While highway engineers designed it to act as a traffic safety valve from Watertown’s busiest commercial corridor, town officials see it as The Next Big Thing for development west of the city.

And I have to say, it opens up acres and acres of scrub fields and woodlands to development. Right now, of course, it’s just empty land full of birds and other wildlife. But Watertown Supervisor Joel Bartlett and his Town Council see it as yet another tax cash cow for the town that already has no local tax rate, full of businesses and commercial enterprise that will further stuff the town’s bank accounts.

And boy, it’s a nice road. Four lanes of brand new pavement, not even a memorial cross in sight. And while it isn’t level, it sure is straight! In fact, if it doesn’t develop, it could become an unofficial county drag strip.

While the town has figured out how to spin flax into gold with this road, the city and the county might be less sure. If county finances go dark ages, I suppose it could put tollbooths at each end and charge a small fee, like the Thousand Island Bridge Authority. Or it could wait for Bartlett’s development and just sit back and collect property tax.

The city, on the other hand, must sigh every time someone brings up Route 202. Any development will want to hook to the city’s sewer system, of course, but right now, there is no room at the end of the road, near Route 3, where initial development is most likely. The Arsenal Street line has a “no vacancy” sign on it, and without some help from either a generous state or the town of Watertown, that isn’t likely to change any time soon. Meanwhile, the city’s own Arsenal-Coffeen connector, the grandiosely named Western Boulevard, seems farther away than it did two years ago when the city was so enthusiastic about building it. Who knew?

You should go check out Route 202 before they put up the tollbooths. It’s a dandy ride, if a tad short. And you can look at the trees and brush and envision The Next Big Thing.