Roadwork on parts of Interstate 86 should be starting shortly. New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald released a statement that reads “The New York State Department of Transportation and the Seneca Nation of Indians agreed today to a framework to allow the start of much-needed rehabilitation work on the Southern Tier Expressway and other New York roads that pass through Seneca territory. The agreement, approved by the Seneca Council, means the contractor will deploy to the site as soon as feasible.” Over the weekend, The DOT gave the Nation an ultimatum, either I-86 would be repaired or the money would go toward other projects. The DOT is now prepared to move forward immediately with a $29 million project to reconstruct 11.5 miles of Interstate 86 on Nation territory located in Cattaraugus County.
After the decision came out that the NYS Department of Transportation was in agreement with the Seneca Nation of Indians there was a lot of commentary about the decision. Senator Catherine Young recently made an announcement saying that Fixing I-86 is a public safety and economic priority, and that she commends Governor Cuomo and the Seneca Nation for working together to find solution. She added that getting construction underway immediately will put people to work and alleviate increasingly dangerous roadway conditions. This debate also continues on our WVTT facebook page, One of our facebook fans, Amanda Burrows, Tim Root, posted on our wall saying that: "The Seneca’s should just put up tolls to go across the reservation on I-86 and then fix it themselves. The state is only going to keep putting this issue off, and someone will end up dead as a result." To post your own opinion go to our facebook page facebook.com slash WVTT.
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