New, Fresh, Modern Rest Areas Opening on NYS Thruway

The latest in a series of all 27 worn New York State Thruway rest areas opened on Monday along the west-bound lane in Chittenango. The new sleek smaller version of the new rest stops includes Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Applegreen (a grab and go convenience section) and Ny Food and Drinks.

The new facility had been open for about 2-hours and was filled with curious travelers and those involved in the grand opening.

"How do you like our new facility," one of the baristas at Starbucks asked a customer. "Does it seem like we've been here for a while, because we just started today," another said as a manager directed and navigated the prompt service.

As expected, the grand opening line at Chick-Fil-A was about 20 people deep but moving quickly.

The remodel and mostly reconstruct of the Thruway's rest areas is costing an estimated  $450 million and so far, two are open and one is expected to open at the end of the month. In addition to today's opening at Chittenango, Indian Castle in the east-bound lane opened at the end of August. Junius Ponds neat Waterloo will open at the end of September and will feature the Thruway's first Shake Shack.

Five more rest areas are expected to open in early 2023, including the Oneida service area, which is in the east bound lane between Exit 33 (Verona-Rome) and Exit 32 (Westmoreland-Rome), featuring Panera Bread, Burger King, and Starbucks.