HIGHLAND, NY — The Town of Highland is dropping a project that would have built a shared roadway and bike lane on Route 97 between Barryville and the Roebling Bridge.

That means turning away a $5 million federal grant that the town would have had to match with $1 million of its own. Supervisor John Pizzolato said he has serious concerns about spending one million to get five, and that there are bigger infrastructure issues the town should be working on.

Pizzolato said the project would affect 62 private driveways along that stretch of highway. “It just doesn’t make sense for our community,” he said.

He also said he has “serious concerns about the motivations behind the project.” 

The previous town board supervisor, Jeff Haas, chaired the grants committee and submitted the initial application. It was for a TAP (Transportation Assistance Program) grant—federal dollars offered by Governor Kathy Hochul for infrastructure projects. Haas told the River Reporter that his board applied for the grant to “improve public safety.” There are serious traffic concerns in Barryville, he said, and an improved access would help protect the many people who use the Route 97 corridor for bicycling, walking, and running.

The grant application cost the town $12,500, which includes payment to the consultant who wrote the application. The previous board included $7,000 of that amount in the town’s 2024 budget because there wasn’t enough money for it in the 2023 budget, Pizzolato said.

Pizzolato says the town will hear in August whether it has been awarded the grant. If the grant is awarded, the town will work with Laberge Group Engineering either to scale back the project or repurpose the grant.