Celebrating a New Chapter for Our Highway Department

On Tuesday, my administration alongside our County Highway Superintendent Skip Vezzetti proudly held a ribbon cutting for the County’s brand-new highway facility located at 26 Scotland Hill Road, Chestnut Ridge.

The $40 million, 114,500-square-foot facility, is sprawled across 24 acres that was purchased for just $1 from New York State Department of Transportation and consists of 7 buildings featuring:

· A new maintenance repair building

· Indoor storage for our fleet

· Able to store 10,000 tons of salt, doubling our current capacity

· Generators and fuel capacity to maintain operations for two weeks without outside assistance.

· A green building – including natural and recycled materials for construction and passive solar.

The facility also has a large-vehicle wash facility that will increase the life expectancy of County vehicles by 20%, saving about $190,000 a year.

The prior facility was constructed in 1935 and first flagged for needed upgrades in the 60’s. But that push fell flat for decades until this administration stepped in.  In 2020, my administration along with the Rockland County Legislature passed a bond resolution for the construction of this new facility which is finally a reality for our hardworking Highway Department employees.

The County Highway Department is responsible for 72 bridges and 170 miles of road – both of which has Rockland rated as one of the top Highway Departments in the entire state.

Over the last four decades Rockland County Highway Department has seen the lane miles within its responsibility increase 28%, while staffing has decreased 20%.To our Highway Department staff while this new garage was certainly needed, you without question more than earned it.

I’m proud to see our County Highway Department finally move from the oldest, longest, continuously used county highway facility in the state to a modern, state-of-the-art, environmentally correct green facility located at the center of our service area enabling us to serve the residents of our county in the most efficient manner.

Without a doubt this incredible achievement is a testament to everything this County has achieved in 10-years. Thank you for all you do and will continue to do in this brand-new facility.