Thompson, NY – Risky Stretch of Rute 17B Set to be Widened Soon

Thompson, NY – Year after year, people have died on State Route 17B.
Now the state plans to fix a short, but dangerous stretch of it.

This summer, the Department of Transportation will widen a half-mile section from Kaufman Road to Hamilton Road, at a cost of $1.9 million. The DOT will add a 12-foot lane and build two large culverts by this fall, said project manager Brian Doak, who works in the Binghamton office.
The stretch runs in the Town of Thompson, just west of the Monticello Gaming & Raceway to the Kinnebrook manufactured-homes community.
Here, the road narrows from four to two lanes. Here, the DOT says, drivers are twice as likely to get into an accident than in most other sections of Route 17B.

But although many cars have crashed along this half-mile stretch, this is not the deadliest section. Seventeen people have died in fatal accidents since 1997. Most of the deadly accidents happened along the stretch from Mongaup Valley to White Lake.
Doak said the DOT has no immediate plans for other improvements. But DOT officials are meeting with the Towns of Bethel, Thompson and Cochecton, seeking input on 17B.
“Hopefully, there will be some relief this year.”
Thompson Supervisor Tony Cellini said Route 17B will get busier if a $600 million St. Regis Mohawk casino is built near the Raceway. He would like a lane added for most of a 14-mile stretch, which runs to Fosterdale in the town of Cochecton. “I think (this project) is a step in the right direction,” he said. [Record]