For Immediate Release: 06/18/25
Contact: Office of Media Relations and Communications | (518) 471-5300 | [email protected]
Project Includes Pavement Repairs, Steel Repairs, Safety Upgrades
Project Expected to be Complete in Fall 2025
The New York State Thruway Authority announced the start of a $1.4 million project on June 18, 2025, to rehabilitate the Interchange 31 ramp bridge over Genesee Street in Oneida County. The bridge, initially constructed in 1953, handles approximately 4,000 vehicles daily.
“The Thruway Authority is investing in aging infrastructure, modernizing our roadway and enhancing the safety and reliability of the Thruway,” Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank G. Hoare, Esq. said. “These projects continue to make the Thruway one of the safest superhighways in the nation with some of the lowest toll rates in the country.”
Bridge rehabilitation projects extend the operational lifespan and maintain the safety of the structures. This specific project is expected to add roughly 10 years of service to the bridge.
The project involves steel and concrete repairs to the bridge, including the deck underside, fascia, and abutment backwalls. It also includes resurfacing the bridge deck with a waterproofing overlay and installing new bridge joints.
Safety upgrades are planned, including new guiderails, median barriers, delineators, signs, and reflective striping.
Due to construction, motorists traveling south on North Genesee Street will be detoured via North Genesee Street, then onto Riverside Drive, and back onto North Genesee Street traveling south.
Vector Construction Corp. is the project contractor following a competitive bidding process. The project is scheduled for completion in Fall 2025, but dates are subject to change based on weather conditions.
Motorists are urged to be vigilant and adhere to posted speed limits in work zones. Fines are doubled for speeding in these areas.
For the latest travel updates, drivers can download the mobile app which is available for free on iPhone and Android devices. The app provides real-time traffic and navigation assistance. Travelers can also utilize the interactive Traveler Map, which features live traffic cameras. Additionally, motorists can sign up for TRANSalert e-mails, which provide current traffic conditions along the Thruway.
About the Thruway Authority
The Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway, built in the early 1950s, stands as one of the oldest parts of the National Interstate Highway System and one of the longest toll roads in the country. Tolls primarily fund the maintenance and operation of the Thruway system. The Thruway Authority does not receive any dedicated federal, state, or local tax dollars, relying instead on tolls paid by Thruway users, including one-third of drivers from out of state.
In 2024, over 400 million toll transactions were processed by the Thruway Authority, with motorists driving 8.2 billion miles. The Authority’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan allocates $2.7 billion towards infrastructure and equipment. This represents an increase of $742 million or 38 percent since the approval of a multi-year toll adjustment plan in 2023. The increased investment will lead to work on approximately 61 percent of the Thruway’s more than 2,800 pavement lane miles, and the replacement or rehabilitation of 20 percent of the Thruway’s 819 bridges.
The Thruway is among the safest roadways in the U.S., with a fatality rate significantly below the national average. Toll rates are also among the lowest compared to similar toll roads. The Thruway’s base passenger vehicle toll rate is less than $0.05 per mile, compared to the Ohio Turnpike ($0.06 per mile), the New Jersey Turnpike (up to $0.39 per mile) and the Pennsylvania Turnpike ($0.16 per mile).
The safety of Thruway Authority employees, roadway workers, and emergency personnel relies on the awareness of all drivers. Motorists should stay focused while driving, reduce speeds in work zones, and move over when seeing a vehicle stopped on the roadside. The state’s Move Over Law, which was expanded in March 2024, requires drivers to slow down and move over for all vehicles stopped along the roadway. Safety is a shared responsibility.
For more information, follow the Thruway on Facebook, X and Instagram or visit the Thruway website.
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