GLDC builds new connector road between Route 365 and Perimeter Road in Griffiss Business and Technology Park

Griffiss Local Development Corp. (GLDC) awarded a construction contract for a new access road connecting the Business Park with Route 365 to Ulster Paving Company of Clockville, NY.

GLDC will undertake the $1.15 million project creating about 1 mile of new road along the southern portion of Perimeter Road near the Family Dollar Distribution Facility. This connector road will incorporate property from the Oneida-Herkimer County Solid Waste Authority Transfer Station and connect with Perimeter Road at Griffiss.

Partial funding for this capital improvement project is being supplied by an Industrial Access Program (IAP) grant awarded to GLDC from the NYS Dept. of Transportation and funding earmarked by GLDC from its capital budget.

Under the IAP Program, 60% of the funding is a grant and the remaining 40% is a loan repaid over five years to NYSDOT. The original IAP grant totaled $1.65 Million and besides the new connector road, GLDC budgeted funds to reconstruct sections of Perimeter Road, realign the Phoenix Drive intersection with Perimeter Road, build a pedestrian pathway and install new street lighting on Ellsworth Road.

“This connector road will provide a safe and convenient point of access for Business Park travelers and others who previously used the Rickmeyer access through Griffiss” said Fred Tillman, Chairman of the GLDC Board of Directors. “Keeping industrial traffic off Rickmeyer Road will ease the burden on residential streets and enable Griffiss to be a good neighbor with nearby residential areas in Rome and Floyd.”

This new road will eliminate concerns that some Rome residents expressed regarding increased vehicle traffic cutting through neighborhood streets to gain access to Griffiss using the Rickmeyer Road entrance. “With the continued growth of Griffiss, the City of Rome felt that it was important to address this concern and I am pleased to see this project proceed so that this wonderful employment center can continue to flourish and be a good corporate neighbor with adjacent neighborhoods”, said City of Rome Mayor James Brown.

Ulster Paving Company, a local division of Old Castle Materials, Inc. will begin construction of this four phase project in mid-August with an expected completion date at the end of 2008. It is expected that the current Rickmeyer Road connector to Perimeter Road will remain open throughout the construction project, but will close after the new connector road is completed.

“This connector road will be a brand new option to enter the Park, complimenting the Route 825, Mohawk Drive, Floyd Avenue, and Rickmeyer Road options” said Steve DiMeo, President, Mohawk Valley EDGE. “Improving the access to Griffiss for travelers coming from the north and east has been a concern of GLDC and the steady growth of technology companies at Technology Heights, Family Dollar’s distribution Center and the New York Air National Guard’s East Defense Sectors (EADS) necessitated the need to upgrade access to the Park and Perimeter Road with an access road that would meet current and long term circulation needs at Griffiss. “

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Contact: Mary Rizzo, 315-338-0393

More information can be found Here