VOORHEESVILLE – Village trustees got a first look during their May meeting at the $818,000 project that will install, extend, or update sidewalks on Altamont Road and Maple and Voorheesville avenues.  

Eighty percent of the cost of the project is covered by federal funds; the village is on the hook for $163,600 and the federal government for the remaining $654,400.

Dan Reynolds, of Creighton Manning Engineering, the village’s engineer on the project, said that he hoped to get design approval this summer. The sidewalk project will need approval from both village board and the state’s Department of Transportation, according to Trustee Richard Straut. Straut expects the project will receive village approval first, and then it will go back to the DOT. If the DOT has any concerns, according to Straut, Creighton Manning  will propose a solution that would be agreeable to both the state and village.

The project would first go to the New York State Department of Transportation for review and then to the village board for its approval.

In the fall, the project would go into a detailed design phase, Reynolds said, and, that is when property-owner concerns would be heard.

In spring 2019, the village would hold an update meeting, and construction would begin, with substantial completion anticipated by the end of summer.

On Altamont Road, sidewalks would be installed on the south side of the road from Claremont Drive to Sky Terrace. At Sky Terrace, the sidewalk switches from the south side to the north side of the road (there is a proposed crosswalk) and continues to School Road to tie into an existing sidewalk. The reason for switching sides of the street is to avoid utility poles in place already, Reynolds said.

On Maple Avenue, the existing, flush-with-the-road sidewalk from Route 156 to Stonington Hill Road would be replaced with one that has a 6-inch curb.

On Voorheesville Avenue, the proposal is to install sidewalks on the west side of the street, starting at Grove Street near the entrance of the Albany County Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail and extending 1,700 feet east toward the village line with New Scotland.

Reynolds said that this is a public-initiated project, stemming from concerns of residents who do not feel safe walking along Maple Avenue since cars will drive or park on the sidewalk because there is no curb.

The project, Reynolds said, is supported by the draft of the comprehensive plan; one of the main objectives of the plan, he said, is to support pedestrian infrastructure. No improvements will be made to the roadways.

The maintenance of the sidewalk – snow removal – will be performed by the village, he said.

About 13 to 15 trees may have to come down as a result of the project, Reynolds said.

In a separate project, a sidewalk will be installed by the village’s Department of Public Works, running along School Road from Altamont Road to the Voorheesville Public Library. Construction is set to begin in early summer.