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Mendon board authorizes MRB to pursue Stony Lonesome Road safety redesign and survey
Summary
After an extended presentation by MRB, the Mendon Town Board authorized its supervisor to move forward with a survey and engineering agreement to remove about 400 linear feet of roadway at the Stony Lonesome Road/Route 65 intersection to create a dead end and reduce hazardous crossovers, subject to state and federal permitting.
The Mendon Town Board on a voice vote authorized the town supervisor to enter an agreement with engineering firm MRB to advance a safety redesign for Stony Lonesome Road, including survey and permitting work aimed at reducing vehicle crossovers at the Route 65 intersection.
Tom, an MRB representative, told the board the firm had examined the stretch from Route 65 to the nearby driveway and recommended removing roughly 400 linear feet of pavement to create a dead end with access only to the adjacent property. "Removing that frontage will allow us to basically put a cul‑de‑sac in there," he said, adding that removal would take out about "10,000 square feet of pavement" and only add a small amount of new paved area. Tom warned the board the site is adjacent to a New York State‑regulated wetland and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has jurisdiction that creates a 100‑foot buffer requiring coordination and permits.
The presentation outlined a stepwise process: prepare a concept plan, review it with town officials and the highway superintendent, meet informally with impacted neighbors, adjust the plan, apply for state and federal permits, hold a public hearing at Town Hall, and then issue final construction documents. Tom said the town could use in‑house highway crews if time allows, or put the work out to bid or use a county contract if the highway department is unavailable.
Board members said the approach is intended to address the most frequent crash patterns reported in Department of Transportation narratives, which highlighted crossovers at that intersection. The supervisor urged MRB to finalize a draft for the supervisor's signature so the permitting process could begin promptly; board members said acting sooner increased the chance the project could proceed in 2025.
The motion to authorize the supervisor to sign the MRB agreement carried by voice vote; the board and MRB emphasized that work remains contingent on required approvals from New York State and federal agencies and on completion of a 284 agreement that governs maintenance and materials purchases for highway projects.
Next steps include MRB preparing the concept and survey work, an informal neighborhood meeting, permit submissions, and a public hearing at Town Hall before construction authorization.
