Update on When the 5/8/12 Bridge Ramps are Expected to Open

Construction on Phase 1 of the 5/8/12 Bridge Replacement at the Utica - New Hartford border is nearing completion. According to Jim Piccola, the region's Public Information Officer for the NYS Department of Transportation, all ramps and north and south bound traffic on Route 8 will be open soon.

Piccola said that by around mid-November, all four ramps off the Arterial (Route 5/12) will be re-opened to traffic and four lanes on Route 8 will be open for both north and south bound traffic. The north-bound traffic will utilize the newly constructed bridge, which is slightly higher than the old bridge. The south bound traffic will operate on the old bridge, which will then be replaced as part of Phase 2 of the project, in the spring of 2022.

Piccola added that another project is expected to come sometime in the not so distant future, that will reconfigure the on and off ramps at the bridges to make for a much safer intersection.