TOWN OF LYME, New York (WWNY) – A state road project planned for this summer on a culvert near Three Mile Bay could close or restrict State Route 12E, the main route into Cape Vincent, raising concerns among business owners, town officials, and emergency responders.
Cape Vincent Town Supervisor Christine Stark said the route is critical to the community.
“12E is our main artery into Watertown and really the rest of the world,” Stark said.
Stark said a detour would redirect traffic closer to Clayton, away from Cape Vincent businesses.
“Our businesses — we do anticipate our businesses are going to suffer this summer,” she said.
Meghan Crast, owner of Snug Harbor Restaurant and Bar, said the potential closure would affect businesses throughout the area.
“Having the bridge closure in there is definitely going to be a difficulty for everyone here in Cape Vincent and Three Mile Bay area,” Crast said.
Crast said she hopes a full closure can be avoided.
“A good solution would be to make it either a one-lane bridge or build a temporary bridge right directly next to it,” she said.,
Crast also raised concerns about emergency services navigating a detour.
“If there’s an emergency, they need a direct path through,” she said. “That extra 10 minutes could be crucial.”
Chaumont Fire Chief Will Lipczynski said a delay is possible but not expected to be significant.
“It’s going to slow us down, but it’s not going to be such a dramatic amount that we can’t, at some point, make up the timing,” Lipczynski said. “There might be a little bit of a delay, but I don’t think it’s going to be anything that people are going to expect to see a huge impact.”
A meeting is scheduled for Friday with state and local officials to discuss how the project will affect traffic.
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