VESTAL — Construction continues on a new $11 million, 10,000-square-foot facility for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) at 810 Route 26 in the town of Vestal. The New York State Office of General Services (OGS) is handling the construction effort, and the work started in 2024, Daniel Scharfenberger, NYSDOT region 9 public-information […]
VESTAL — Construction continues on a new $11 million, 10,000-square-foot facility for the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) at 810 Route 26 in the town of Vestal.
The New York State Office of General Services (OGS) is handling the construction effort, and the work started in 2024, Daniel Scharfenberger, NYSDOT region 9 public-information specialist, tells CNYBJ in a May 1 phone interview.
“They [first] had to knock down some of the older buildings that were on that site, and that was the beginning of construction,” he adds.
The upcoming building is replacing another NYSDOT facility on that same property.
Scharfenberger believes the crews involved are hoping to complete construction by the end of this year, but the work may continue into 2026.
The new building will serve the town of Vestal, village of Johnson City, Endicott, and Endwell in western Broome County. It will have “many capabilities” that the other, older buildings couldn’t provide, says Scharfenberger.
“Right now, plows are stored outside during the winter, so this will better protect the equipment that protects our infrastructure,” he adds.
NYSDOT plans to keep plows inside a new, eight-bay garage that’ll be part of the structure. Scharfenberger says that’s “very important” because the building isn’t far from Interstate 86 (State Route 17) that connects a lot of the Southern Tier.
“This is going to help us during [weather systems dumping] snow and ice, the spring and summer construction season, [and] maintenance season, [to] better protect the highways for the driving public,” he notes.
In addition, the previous buildings weren’t connected to the water lines. However, the new building will be connected to the water and sewer lines, which will allow NYSDOT personnel to eventually build machinery to make salt brine.
“That’s going to help us pre-wet salt before a storm and be able to use a little less salt and honestly keep the roads better protected,” says Scharfenberger.
The upcoming facility will also “make it easier” to transport some of the salt brine that’s created in the new building to Tioga County to help its efforts during the winter months, he adds.
On its website, NYSDOT explains why it spreads salt before a storm under a “Frequently Asked Questions” section.
“Salting the road before a storm forms a layer of brine on the pavement, greatly decreasing the formation of ice on the roadway. Pre-treating allows us to use less salt and also makes it easier to plow the snow off the road safely since the snow is not frozen to the pavement. This treating is also done with liquid products such as calcium chloride,” the department said.
