MONTICELLO, NY — The Sullivan County Legislature’s Public Works Committee has asked the NYS Department of Transportation (DOT) to improve the safety of a dangerous Wurtsboro intersection.

The DOT owns and maintains the traffic lights at that intersection, US Route 209 and Sullivan Street, which has seen numerous accidents caused by heavy trucks whose brakes overheated while descending Wurtsboro Mountain Road from Rock Hill.

Legislators Terry Blosser-Bernardo and Nick Salomone introduced the legislation. Salomone said the safety of the village—businesses, residents, and truck drivers—must be secured before another life is lost. 

County officials are urging the DOT to consider alternate truck routes and Traffic Signal Pre-emption Technology, which would install detectors under the pavement on Wurtsboro Mountain Road. A heavy truck speeding downhill towards the village would activate signaling devices that would warn drivers and pedestrians of a potentially out-of-control vehicle.

The most recent runaway truck accidents occurred in February and April last year, with thousands of dollars in damages and injuries to a truck driver. About 8,000 vehicles use that section of Route 209 every day.