Blooming Grove Highway Department Presents Budget & Annual Report

Every year Highway Superintendent, Wayne Kirkpatrick gives a detailed Budget Presentation. On May 6th at the Town Board’s relgular meeting Kirkpatrick gave a lengthy list of the approximately 9 miles of roads they expect to be working on this year, what kind of treatment each road will get, and the associated department costs. In an update today (May 22), Kirkpatrick said:

"The total for our work on capital projects for 2025 is $1,353,093.00 the

State's portion of this work with the increase that the Highway Superintendents fought for when we went to Albany is $259,516.00 - what we, the town, gained after a day of lobbying in Albany."

What does the Highway Department really do aside from paving? Well, in addition to paving, all of these roads need their white safety striping too, and like the mail delivery, whether it’s rain, sleet, snow, high winds or 90 degrees, this crew is out there working. You may have heard warnings recently that New York City water is going to come into risk pretty soon because of all the salt treatments done during Winter. The Blooming Grove Highway Department is pretty Hi-Tech and found an alternative icy road treatment that uses significantly less salt. Their daily assignments include things like: If a machine is broken, chances are they are fixing it themselves. If a water hydrant or water tower or residential  water district user’s pipe is broken, chances are they’re fixing it themselves and bringing temporary loads of water from Cornwall to fill the residents needs, (and saving money by using a water truck so they can deliver it themselves). If a neighboring community is having an emergency, they’re probably helping them out too, whether it's snow plowing or lending their big bucketloader, or helping to repair machinery at a far reduced cost. And that doesn’t even start to cover the year long roadwork that never seems to get finished. The more people who come to live, work and shop in Blooming Grove, the more stress there is on the road surfaces and drainage ditches, especially the last few years when in addition to residential traffic there are large construction vehicles, Amazon, and Fed-Ex as well as Orange and Rockland installation, repair and tree-trimming trucks by the dozens. Add to that, some super challenging roads like those up in Mt. Lodge and you have to have a crew and crew leader who must be strong, skilled, smart and dedicated. If you wonder why you didn't see Hwy. Supt. Kirkpatrick on Easter Sunday, he was at Barnes Road working to determine the source of a major District water leak. And there was a second water district issue that took a lot of time to resolve in the Tappan Hill Water District. He and Town Supervisor Rob Jeroloman practically had to climb into a water tower to assess diminishing capacity during one of these repairs, but now they have found a piece of new equipment that automatically alerts them to a problem and where its located.

The current members of the Department are also highly community minded and work hard every year on things like the Town’s Annual Blooming Grove Cleanup, providing materials, promoting it and doing pick-up runs for a traditional very committed citizen roadside clean-up weekend, followed a few weeks later by a recyclables collection at the Highway Department. They also do regular rounds of the many roads in Town and record unforseen problems and whether its an urgent issue that needs to be tended to immediately, or put on

a "to get to" list. Among the things they do not have to do, but frequently tackle, are bags of trash, furniture, toilets and other unsightly droppings that are occasionally just shoved out of the bed of a truck or trunk of some careless individual.

So, when you see these hardworking highway staff members working on road projects to help you and your vehicle stay safe, be extra cautious, and if they're directing traffic or taking a break, give them a smile and salute or wave to let them know their dedication to the community is appreciated.

The following is the 2025 capital project list:

Micro- Surfacing

1.       Salzburg Rd  

2.       Innsbruck Rd

3.       Von trapp Ct.

4.       Oxford Rd

Reclamation / Paving

 1.       Barnes Rd- 3300 feet between #138 & #168

2.       Mandy La.

3.       Calvert Dr.

 Mill / Shim / Paving Overlay

 1.       Mountain Lodge Rd  (Glenwood Rd & Hillside Trail)

2.       Pine crest Rd.

3.       Greycourt Rd. (Craigville Rd to Town Line)

4.       Goshen Rd.   ( Hulsetown Rd to Town Line)

5.       Horton Rd.    (Rt 208 to #50)

6.       Old Manson Rd  (Museum Village road to #72)

7.       Round Hill Rd (Between Route 94 – Route 208