Frustrating Detour Finally Ends in Orange County, New York

For over three months, drivers have been forced to travel more than five miles out of their way. Now, the nightmare is finally over.

Local residents in Blooming Grove are rejoicing over the announcement that an Orange County road will finally reopen after being closed for a quarter of the year. Imagine trying to simply drive across town and be faced with a massive detour. That's what residents of Blooming Grove have been dealing with since August 14.

The Town of Blooming Grove officially shut down Round Hill Road in order to replace a crumbling bridge that was built in 1955. The Board Bridge that spans Cromline Creek was designated as a scour-critical bridge, basically meaning that its foundation was failing.

The old span (shown above) was completely replaced with a new bridge that includes wider shoulders. The footprint of the bridge was also slightly rotated to match the direction of the roadway.

Most importantly, the new bridge was constructed on deep pile foundations which is expected to last for generations to come.

County Executive Steven Neuhaus and DPW Commissioner Erik Denega celebrated the opening of the new bridge, acknowledging how important it is to the Blooming Grove community.

Since August, drivers approaching from the east were told to take a detour 2.5 miles up Route 208 to Route 94 in Washingtonville and drive back down another 2.5 miles. Drivers approaching from the west needed to take the same detour in reverse. Now that the bridge has been reopened, Round Hill Road is also reopened and the detour is no longer in effect.