West Nyack Road Work

How long is it going to take to complete the construction on Route 59 in West Nyack? The New York DOT awarded the contract of $29.6 million back in Sept., 2009, with a completion date of Fall 2011. Well, it's almost Spring 2012 and it's still a nightmare.  I live in Bergen County and travel to Nyack for work, I think the state of New York should seek the advise of it's close neighbors to the south. I have seen massive road reconstruction projects completed in much less time. For instance, the intersection of Route 17 and Route 4 in Paramus, known as one of the state's most congested and most dangerous intersections, this 2-year project costing $120 million was completed in record time and the contractor was awarded bonuses for it's early completion. In comparison to the complete redesign of this major cloverleaf in Paramus, replacing a few deteriorating bridges on a very short stretch of roadway seems like childsplay.... yet the project continues at a snails pace. Disruptions in traffic and constant flooding are only part of the problem, Rockland County's largest shopping mall, Palisades Center Mall (eighth largest mall in the United States), happens to be smack in the middle of this mess. With businesses closing in this 14 year young mall, will we see another major Rockland mall close?? Is it short-sighted planning, bureaucratic red-tape, good old boy hiring, or all of the above that contributed to this unfortunate circumstance? ... or is it just the state of New York and county of Rockland's inability to get the job done? 

Food for thought... Rebuilding the Tappan Zee Bridge!!!!