Village Kisco surprised by Con Ed work on busy Route 133

By MARTIN WILBUR

Mount Kisco officials expressed frustration this week at the failure of the New York State Department of Transportation to notify the village of Con Edison underground work being performed at Route 133 and Croton Avenue that recently snarled downtown traffic.

Mayor J. Michael Cindrich said that on the evening of May 27 he received numerous notifications that there were traffic backups stemming from the utility’s work near that intersection. He said DOT had issued a construction permit to Con Edison for infrastructure improvements to their system without notifying the village. The next morning Cindrich said he contacted Con Edison to suspend work, and by the afternoon the project was temporarily shut down.

Parkway exit troubles

Cindrich said he was told of traffic crawling on Main Street from Croton Avenue up to South Moger Avenue. The area is located near an entrance and exit from the Saw Mill River Parkway on the heavily used Route 133.

Since local officials were unaware that work was going to be done at the site, there was no customary preconstruction meeting, the mayor said.

“They were more than receptive to each and every demand that I made and the demands that the village manager set forth,” Cindrich said of Con Edison.  

A key demand from the village is for Con Edison to pay for police officers to direct traffic at the site while crews are working. Another important step was to wait for the resumption of work until after schools close for the summer later this month, a major contributor to vehicular volume in the morning and in mid-afternoon.

The tentative completion date for the project is July 24, although work could extend beyond that date.

“It’s going to happen and it’s going to be a disaster, but at least we’re aware of it now and we’re on the right course,” Cindrich said. “It’s not an emergency; it’s something that Con Ed didn’t have a problem delaying until the month of June, but it’s going to be a major conflict.”

Late in the afternoon on May 27, the village posted on its Facebook page that Con Edison’s work “was planned for and began without the Village’s knowledge or involvement, as Route 133 is a New York State Road and NYS DOT issued the required permits.” 

Despite that post and Cindrich’s comments, the DOT appeared to shift blame for the lack of notification to the utility. 

In a response to questions from The Recorder, the department’s Region 8 Public Information Office in Poughkeepsie released a statement saying that Con Edison applied for and obtained a permit and is responsible for local outreach.

“The work being performed along State Route 133 in Mount Kisco is being performed by Con Edison under a highway work permit issued by NYSDOT,” its statement read. “Questions about the project, including outreach efforts, should be directed to Con Edison.”

Gas system safety

Con Edison spokesman Allan Drury said the work is to improve the infrastructure of its gas system to ensure it is safe. The utility will also use flaggers to help with safety and traffic flow once crews return, he said.

The evening complaints that Cindrich referred to was not the only difficult time period at the intersection on that day. At 10:43 a.m., Westchester County Police were contacted by a complainant informing them of a traffic condition. Police said that a sergeant responded and spoke with the crew to inform them that a workable traffic plan should be devised.