The rooftop highway, now known as I-98, won’t be on the list of projects the North Country Regional Economic Development Council sends to Albany\u00a0 this month.<\/p>\n
The idea has been around for decades: a four lane interstate to connect I-81 on the western edge of the region, to I-87, on the eastern side.<\/p>\n
Council co-chair Garry Douglas told NCPR yesterday that the interstate, being pushed hard by St. Lawrence County, just isn’t the kind of initiative that fits the mold, for now:<\/p>\n
We will need to identify a discreet, probably small number of projects, that will have to meet very rigorous criteria\u2026so this is not one of those projects. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This is just the first pass\u00a0 in Gov. Cuomo’s regional approach to economic development. Appointed councils from around the state are competing for $40 million in state funds —\u00a0 that’s another the reasons the highway, estimated price tag $4 billion, doesn’t qualify, so far.<\/p>\n
The state department of transportation\u2019s against it.\u00a0 Instead, the DOT prefers more modest improvements along existing state Rt. 11.\u00a0 How about it? Good idea? Or no?<\/p>\n