Mt. Kisco, New Castle Compromise on Byram Lake Road Work
A four-week project to repair a portion of Byram Lake Road is underway after the Town of New Castle and the Village of Mount Kisco reached a compromise to split the cost of the work.
The two municipalities ended months of squabbling and moved forward last Wednesday to fix a roughly 30- to 40-foot-long box culvert after it was damaged last summer. There had been a dispute regarding whose responsibility it was to make the repairs, which included each side going to court last October to file a notice of claim against each another.
Recently, a mutual decision was made to evenly divide the cost of the work, which is estimated at $150,000, said New Castle Town Administrator Jill Shapiro. Mount Kisco Village Manager Edward Brancati confirmed the projected cost and that the municipalities will also attempt to recover part of the expense through insurance.
“We need it fixed, we need it open and we just put it aside and got it done,” Shapiro said.
Detour signs are posted in the area since a portion of Byram Lake Road will be closed just north of Harriman Road for the duration of the work, Brancati said. The detour uses Route 128, Sheather Road and Harriman Road.
On July 14, 2016, the culvert was damaged in the vicinity of 190 Byram Lake Rd. In its notice of claim, Mount Kisco had contended that a water main was damaged after crews from New Castle had improperly repaired the culvert. Conversely, New Castle charged that Mount Kisco had damaged the culvert after servicing its main.
Mount Kisco’s water main runs from Byram Lake, the village’s water source, under the road, which is owned by New Castle. The village has an easement from the town to repair its water main.
Brancati said the work is being done by Landi Contracting of Hawthorne.
The stalemate between the two municipalities had irked local residents once one lane over the culvert was closed, which forced traffic in both directions to use the remaining lane. Residents argued that it created a hazard.
During the first three months following the incident, the town placed a construction plate over the culvert, however, the lane was shut off because of concern over an unsafe condition.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/