Rockland County Legislators Tour New County Highway Department Depot in Chestnut Ridge

By M.C. Millman

Rockland County legislators toured the new County Highway Department depot in Chestnut Ridge Thursday afternoon.

The depot will house all snow removal, highway-related construction equipment, and road painting trucks. The administration office, as well as offices for roads and bridges, engineering, surveyors, and the traffic safety division, will also be located in the full-service facility.

 "The County Highway Department battles the elements every day," Legislator Aney Paul tells Rockland Daily. "Not just the snow in winter or road maintenance in summer, but the difficulties that come from a lack of appropriate space to store trucks, plows, and other necessary equipment. It's also important to provide better working conditions for county employees. 

The facility is set to replace New City's outdated, nearly eighty-year-old highway facility. The new depot has been an ongoing project for many years and is finally nearing completion, with an opening date tentatively scheduled for August.

Some of the many benefits of the new green, state-of-the-art depot, according to Skip Vezzetti, Rockland County Highway Supervisor, include the ability to keep vehicles inside the building. This will save taxpayers money as it will add twenty percent to the life of the over twenty-million-dollar fleet due to less exposure to the elements and leading to less frequent equipment replacements overall. The building also has a truck washing station, especially important salting roads. All of this results in lower maintenance costs.

"In only twenty years," says Vezzetti, "we should be able to recoup most of the costs of the depot.

"The new facility is truly state of the art," Rockland County Legislator Joel Friedman shares after his tour, "and designed to save a tremendous amount of taxpayer money over the facility's lifetime. Chestnut Ridge will definitely benefit from being in the immediate vicinity of County highway services."

The facility has room to store ten thousand tons of salt, so there is little chance of running out over the winter. It is located at the center of Rockland's southern service area leading to faster reaction time for emergencies and snow removal for the seventeen plow routes servicing Ramapo, Clarkstown, and Orangetown.

"The Village of Chestnut Ridge will greatly benefit from having the Highway Department headquarters and depot right here within our Village boundaries," Chaim Rose, Deputy Mayor of Chestnut Ridge, shares with Rockland Daily. "Not only will this improve the efficiency of snow removal in the winter, but it will also allow the Village to collaborate more closely with the County Highway Department. Chestnut Ridge is a growing Village with many infrastructure needs, and I am certain this new depot will go a long way toward enabling us to further our infrastructure goals. 

"In other news, after quite a bit of work, we got the County to agree to install sidewalks in front of their new depot. A special thank you is due to County Legislators Aron Wieder and Joel Friedman for helping to make this a reality."

"The Ramapo highway department works closely with the county department," Fred Brinn, Town of Ramapo Superintendent of Highways, shares. "We are very happy they are getting this new facility, and through an inter-municipal agreement we have always had with the County, we are looking forward to sharing some services, such as, they will provide salt when our trucks are on that part of town which will save time. We are also going to be able to utilize the truck washing station.

"As an added note, I have a tremendous amount of respect for Skip Vezzetti, a mentor to me. His assistance has been immeasurable."

"The County Legislature and the County Executive committed to this project many years ago, says Paul, "and while it's been a long road to get here, I believe the effort has been well worth it. I congratulate Highway Superintendent Charles Vezzetti, his staff, and everyone who has worked on this vital project so our residents may be better served."