Work to begin soon on Drum connector

Work on the long-awaited Fort Drum connector will begin in about a week.

Site preparation for the road in the towns of LeRay and Pamelia is set to begin now that state Department of Transportation Region 7 awarded a $722,000 contract to the Delaney Group, Gloversville, to clear trees along the corridor.

The work has to be done early in the year, before the federally designated endangered Indiana bats return from their wintering caves to the area's woods to roost.

The contract was awarded Dec. 26, and the work should be completed by the end of May.

The major contract for the construction of the new roadway — dubbed Interstate 781 — connecting Fort Drum to Interstate 81 will be awarded in mid-May, with major construction work to begin by June, DOT announced last week.

The design team from DOT Region 7 submitted its final design plan to the main DOT office in December, and approval is expected in the next week or so, DOT Region 7 spokesman Michael R. Flick said.

"That's the final administrative piece before it goes out to contractors," he said.

The letting date for the main construction project is April 1. "Our work in the region by and large is done," he said

A field office for DOT engineers is in place, Mr. Flick said.

Over the next few weeks, the contractor will begin to move equipment in and do surveying work. Soon after that, motorists along Route 11 and Interstate 81 might see evidence of the work, and observers nearby might hear it, but the bulk of the work may not be noticeable to the public.

"A lot of it goes across territory that might only be seen from farm roads," Mr. Flick said.

DOT Region 7 also has finalized its plans for the aesthetic treatment of the bridge that will carry the new roadway over Route 11 to Fort Drum's north gate. Motorists traveling in both directions on Route 11 will be greeted with two large signs, one on either side of the roadway, on the bridge's walls. One will read, "Welcome to Fort Drum," the other, "Jefferson County, New York." Square panels with decorative symbols will bookend each of the lettered signs. The wall will be textured, and plantings will be added to complement the signs.

DOT officials working on the designs considered input from the public, local elected officials, Fort Drum representatives and others in settling on the final plans, Mr. Flick said.

DOT Region 7 also recently updated the estimated completion date of the project to August 2012, which would allow for work through three full construction seasons. Previously, DOT officials had hoped the work could be completed earlier in 2012. As planning has moved forward, though, it became clear more time was needed to build the project in sequence.

"By the time we get to the spring of that 2012 year, the lion's share of that work is going to be done," Mr. Flick said.