Portions of Route 67 in Ballston, Charlton to be repaved soon

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

Seven miles of state Route 67 between Ballston Spa and the Montgomery County line will be repaved starting later this month because of last winter’s road damage.

The project, involving two different 3.5-mile stretches of road in Ballston and Charlton, is expected to cost about $2 million, the state Department of Transportation said. It will be done between July 28 and mid-September.

The heavily travelled road suffered numerous patches of broken road surface because of the severe winter. The worst sections at times forced motorists to steer on the shoulders to avoid rough driving. They were temporarily patched earlier this spring.

“It became so rough this winter that it became dangerous,” said Charlton Supervisor Alan R. Grattidge. “There are a lot of tractor-trailers that travel between the Grande Industrial Park [in Saratoga Springs] and Amsterdam. When a tractor-trailer has to take evasive action, it becomes a really dangerous situation.”

Grattidge said he complained to DOT about the road’s condition, and also contacted Assemblyman James Tedisco, R-Glenville.

A DOT spokesman said the project was already in the works, while acknowledging the impact the winter weather had on the road.

“This was a job that had been on our radar to do; while the harsh winter certainly made the road rougher, it’s a job we had planned to do anyway. The timing worked out that we were able to do it this summer,” DOT spokesman Bryan Viggiani said.

The contractor for the paving is Callanan Industries of Schenectady. There is also some pavement recycling involved, Viggiani said, which will be done by Gorman Brothers of Albany.

The first section to be done, where work is due to start July 28, is from Route 50 in Ballston Spa westward to approximately Paisley Road. The second section will be in West Charlton, from the intersection with Route 147 at Scotch Corners to the Montgomery County line.

Route 67 sees a significant amount of heavy truck traffic between Saratoga County and the state Thruway exit in Amsterdam.

The Route 67 project is the second major Saratoga County highway to be repaved because of damage the pavement suffered during the freeze and thaw cycles of last winter, exacerbated by traffic volumes.

In the other project, a four-mile stretch of Route 146 is going to be repaved under a $1.68 million project.

The Clifton Park work will be from Riverview Road in Rexford to the intersection with Route 146A. The work is expected to begin in late summer and conclude in late October. Much of that work will be done at night.