Old Route 17 Reconstruction

NYDOT sought to remove and replace Red House Bridge, which carries Old Route 17 over the Allegheny River. This work required the rehabilitation of 5.7 miles of Old Route 17 to allow for construction traffic. The road had seen very little maintenance in the decades since the construction of the Southern Tier Expressway, so it was decided that a gravel road would be built overtop of the existing concrete one.Since the road is not yet planned to be paved, the long-term performance of the gravel section was a priority.

NYDOT decided to first place 6” of gravel to fill in potholes and level the road. Then a layer of Tensar HX165 geogrid was placed, followed by an additional 6” of gravel on top. The use of the HX165 geogrid allowed the gravel road to achieve the same performance as a much thicker section that could have needed up to 6” more gravel than the design that was constructed. The HX165 will continue to confine the aggregate, allowing for the option of paving in the future.