OBSERVER Photo by Gregory Bacon A project to widen two portions of Rt. 60 for a half a mile is underway.

A project designed to widen parts of Route 60 is underway.

Crews with the state Department of Transportation have been working on Route 60 between Moon Road and Charlotte Hill Road in the town of Charlotte. Currently the lanes have been shifted slightly as crews are cutting down trees and preparing the edges of the road.

Last fall the state announced it was planning a $4 million Route 60 project that would include the addition of passing lanes in the towns of Gerry and Charlotte.

The two, half-mile-long passing lanes will be built along Route 60. One will be in the northbound lane beginning just past Cassadaga Valley school and continuing north, with the second in the southbound lane between Moon Road and Charlotte Hill Road. The lanes will allow vehicles to pass slower motorists, which at times can be difficult with speeds near 55 mph on the heavily traveled corridor connecting Jamestown and the Dunkirk-Fredonia area.

Currently the road is 40 feet wide. After construction, the two separate portions will be 48 feet wide.

Susan S. Surdej, P.E., regional public information officer, said Friday in an email, “This project will construct relief passing lanes at various locations along NY Route 60 within the Towns of Gerry, Charlotte, and Stockton and the Villages of Cassadaga and Sinclairville in Chautauqua County. This project will also replace the NY Route 60 bridge over Cassadaga Creek (BIN 1027800) in the Town of Ellicott, Chautauqua County.”

The project officially began in March of this year, although this is the first time long stretches of the road have been coned or blocked off.

Surdej said the work is expected to be completed in the fall of 2021.

At a public information session last fall, the state noted the existing pavement surface between the town of Gerry and village of Sinclairville was last treated in 2011 with an anticipated service life of eight years. “This project will extend the service life of the pavement on NY Route 60 between these limits by milling and resurfacing the pavement with a new layer of asphalt. All signs within the project limits will be replaced,” the DOT said.

During the construction, the DOT states that traffic will be maintained on site during all phases of construction, however some delays can be expected. No off-site detours will be required. Routes for emergency vehicles and other essential services will be open and maintained during construction.