Gov. Cuomo announced in January of this year that he planned to expedite the long-delayed project that will improve access in and around Woodbury Common as well as traffic on the New York State Thruway and Route 17. Originally work on the project was not expected to begin until 2022.

At his speech at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 363 facility in Harriman, Gov. Cuomo said that traffic on Route 17 by Woodbury Common has been a “nightmare.” The Woodbury Common Premium Outlets draws an estimated more than 13 million visitors a year. The popular shopping venue has drawn a significant amount of traffic to the area amounting to 32 million vehicle trips a year—20,000 vehicles on Route 32 and 50,000 on Route 17 each day.

“For too long, Hudson Valley residents have endured endless traffic headaches caused by the interchange at Woodbury Common, and now the state is taking action by developing a world-class transportation hub that will help alleviate congestion and improve traffic flow for residents and tourists alike,” Gov. Cuomo said.

Montesano Brothers Inc. of New Rochelle won the bid for the conversion of the existing Harriman tolls to all-electronic tolling with the New York State Thruway Authority. Montesano bested five other bidders with a winning bid of $13.989 million. The project calls for the conversion of the Harriman Toll Barrier to cashless tolling for northbound traffic seeking to access Woodbury Common and Route 17, as well as traffic seeking to travel south on the Thruway. For southbound traffic from the Thruway's ticketed portion of the system, two toll lanes would remain in place for motorists with E-ZPass or cash. The scheduled completion date is October 2018.

The improvement project will involve a unique “Diverging Diamond Interchange,” the replacement of the Route 32 bridge with new twin bridges, building a new underpass under the Route 32 structure, the creation of a new lane in each direction on Route 32, the construction of a new access point to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, the construction of a new roadway connecting Monroe-Woodbury elementary schools and the high school located nearby, the development of a new 200-space park and ride lot, featuring a solar-reliant bus shelter, as well a bicycle and pedestrian safety corridor.

State officials explained that the Diverging Diamond Interchange design would eliminate the need to cross traffic lanes while making left hand turns through a “crossover intersection” that will move traffic from the right side of the road to the left side of the road, then back again. Gov. Cuomo said that the diamond interchange design has been implemented successfully on a road project in Monroe County in 2012.

Another critical component of the project will be improvements to Nininger Road that is located adjacent to Exit 131 and links traffic from Route 32 to the communities of Kiryas Joel and the Village of Monroe. The project will separate local traffic from visitor traffic, creating a new bridge that will include an underpass under Route 32 with roundabouts on each end, avoiding the need for a signalized intersection at Route 32 while minimizing the impact on local neighborhoods and businesses, state officials noted. Full-service access to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets area will continue and the project will also include a new parking lot to access local athletic fields.

In terms of improvements geared to the highly popular Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, a new south entrance/exit to and from Woodbury Common Premium Outlets will be built. The new entrance/exit will improve access to the mall “ring road” accessing the parking garage. Local traffic will be able to access this new entrance/exit through the new underpass under Route 32. Also, visitors' traffic on Route 32 and Route 17 will be able to access this new entrance through the newly constructed roundabouts.