NY To Modernize Thruway Service Areas

NEW YORK — The state Thruway Authority will be modernizing 27 service areas located on the Thruway. On Tuesday, the Thruway Authority board of directors approved the selection of a proposed to redevelop the service areas originally built in the 1950s, with the las significant redevelopment happening in the 1990s.

Empire State Thruway Partners submitted a $450 million investment plan to rebuild 23 of 27 service area restaurant buildings and provide significant renovations and upgrades to the remaining four.

The contract with Empire State Thruway Partners includes a 33-year term, with two phases of construction. The first phase includes 16 service areas with staged reconstruction expected to begin in 2021. The second phase includes 11 service areas with renovations expected to being in January 2023.

No two consecutive service areas in the same direction of travel will be closed for renovations at the same time.

For the service areas, most buildings will be configured to provide entrances from both the parking lot and fuel station facilities. Additional amenities will include exterior seating with access to Taste NY farm markets, picnic areas, play areas and pet walking areas with comfort stations. Business centers will be available at designated service areas. Enhanced services such as call ahead ordering, kiosks and drive-thru service will be available at most locations.

Select locations will also have virtual welcome and tourism centers, food trucks and seasonal offerings, enclosed climate controlled pet areas and private areas for nursing mothers.

For the commercial trucking industry, new amenities will include increased truck parking system-wide, shower and laundry facilities, fitness centers and healthy snacks.

Service areas in the lower and mid-Hudson Valley include Sloatsburg, Ardsley and New Paltz.

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