Oneida Street Still Closed Between Chadwicks and Sauquoit

With the threat of more heavy rain and flooding around the area, one project in the Town of New Hartford still hasn't been finished. And it's causing headaches for area residents and businesses.

After the floods on Saturday, July 1, 2017, parts of Chadwicks and Sauquoit were dealing with massive cleanup and repairs. Most roads reopened after a couple days, then a sinkhole opened on Oneida Street on Wednesday, July 5, 2017.

Oneida Street is still closed from Elm Street in Chadwicks in the Town of New Hartford, south to Willow Brook Lane in the Town of Paris.

The actual sinkhole lies in the jurisdiction of the Town of New Hartford Highway Department and they have begun work on demolition around the site. It appears that several new drainage pipes are going to be installed under the road to allow proper water flow during future heavy rain events.

We made numerous attempts to contact the Town of New Hartford Highway Department and left messages, but none were returned. We have not been able to get any additional information regarding a timeline for finishing the work. Residents of the area did note quite a bit of truck traffic to and from the site recently so hopefully progress is being made.

There doesn't appear to be any recent notices regarding work on the Oneida Street project on the Town's webpage for the Highway Department. Neighbors of the site have wondered whether they were waiting for certain parts or waiting for emergency funding for the project. Originally residents heard the road would be reopened in about 5 days.

Of course there are always 10 different ways to get from one place to another in Central New York, but it's certainly been an inconvenience to many people. For example, Route 8 only has an on-ramp in the northbound direction. To head south, you can continue past Route 8 to Mohawk Street and head towards Pinnacle Road in Sauquoit. Another option to get around the affected area is to take Butler Ave next to Orchard Hall, over to Grange Hill Road, then down to Oneida Street in Chadwicks.

If you have any info or pictures of progress at the site, you can send them to us using the Lite 98.7 Mobile App.

BONUS VIDEO