Lewis legislators back 'rooftop highway'

LOWVILLE — Lewis County legislators have formally endorsed the concept of the "rooftop highway," as long as plans include a connecting spur through their county.

Legislators on Tuesday by a 7-1 vote adopted a resolution in support of a four-lane highway across Northern New York connecting interstates 81 and 88. Legislators Patrick F. Wallace, R-Lowville, and Michael A. Tabolt, R-Croghan, were absent.

Legislator Philip C. Hathway, R-Harrisville, who cast the lone dissenting vote, suggested that such projects tend to isolate communities along their routes.

"I wonder if it would do more harm than good," Mr. Hathway said.

Legislator Richard C. Lucas, R-Barnes Corners, chairman of the legislative Economic Development Committee, said Wednesday that some Massena-area advocates of the proposed Northern Tier Expressway from Watertown to Plattsburgh met with his committee a few weeks ago. While committee members felt comfortable offering a letter of support, they also sought to include a provision that the project, if undertaken, include a connecting spur to Lowville and the possible expansion to four lanes of Route 12 from Lowville to Utica, Mr. Lucas said.

"We just felt it was worth at least going the next step on, especially when it's not going to cost us anything," Mr. Lucas said.

The resolution adopted by legislators suggests that the proposed rooftop highway, which has been debated by regional leaders for decades, could make the region "more attractive to transportation-dependent industries."

A state Department of Transportation-commissioned corridor study completed last fall called for making sectional improvements to stretches of Route 11 — including bypasses around congested communities and alternating third passing lanes in some spots — rather than constructing a full-blown four-lane divided highway.

However, the Northern Tier Expressway Study Advisory Group — a collection of representatives from St. Lawrence, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis and Clinton counties formed to advise on DOT's four-lane highway planning efforts — this summer suggested the proposed improvements should not be considered a substitute for a four-lane highway.

U.S. Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., this summer included the rooftop highway in a statewide list of projects she wants included in the next six-year surface transportation bill.