Study to take look at Malta traffic needs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Stephen Williams

A kickoff meeting for a $500,000 regional study of how to deal with increasing traffic from high-tech growth in central Saratoga County will take place tonight at the Malta Community Center.

The 18-month traffic study could lay the groundwork for pursuing plans for a new Northway exit north of Round Lake to accommodate additional traffic.

GlobalFoundries and the revitalized Halfmoon railroad yard are already increasing traffic in Malta and surrounding communities. In anticipation, there have been calls as far back as a decade ago for a new exit near the Ballston Creek valley.

The study will be done by Creighton Manning Engineering of Albany, which specializes in traffic engineering.

“This study will give federal, state and local officials updated data and traffic information to better understand the infrastructure needs associated with projected growth and development in Saratoga County,” said F. Michael Tucker, president and CEO of the Center for Economic Growth in Albany.

The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., with an introduction to be followed by an opportunity for public comment.

The towns of Malta and Stillwater are already seeing significant traffic impacts from the roughly 3,000 people working at GlobalFoundries — and the computer chip giant has approval to build a second factory, though it hasn’t committed to it.

When that plant was approved by the towns in 2013, a previous zoning provision tying the plant to a new Northway exit was dropped, but local officials agreed to start the lengthy process needed to determine whether the Northway needs an Exit 11A.

The study will cover the area from Exit 10 in Clifton Park to Exit 13 just south of Saratoga Springs, incorporating routes 9 and 67, which are major commuter and truck routes.

The study is being administered by the Center for Economic Growth, with technical assistance from the Capital District Transportation Committee. Several more public meetings are planned before completion of the plan in spring 2016.

No federal or state money is involved in the study. National Grid is contributing $250,000 from an economic development fund, with the rest of the funding coming from Saratoga County, the towns of Malta and Stillwater, GlobalFoundries, and the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency.

A new website for the study has been established at SaratogaRTS.com.