SLATE HILL – It has been a 20-year battle to have a crash gate installed at Interstate 84 in the Town of Wawayanda and the time is long overdue, local, state and fire Slate Hill Fire Department officials said.
Their call for the emergency access to the highway comes following last Thursday’s crash of a charter coach from Long Island carrying student band members and adults. Two women on the bus were killed when a tire blew out and the bus crashed down a ravine.
Senator James Skoufis and Assemblyman Karl Brabenec are calling on the Federal Highway Administration, which now oversees the highway, as well as the State Department of Transportation and the governor to push for the gate immediately.
Fire Chief Micheal Dally said at present, their trucks must travel 10 miles to the New Hampton entrance only to drive back to the accident scene. A crash gate could cut 10 minutes off response time, they said.
“Timing is everything between life and death,” said Orange County Fire Coordinator Vini Tankasali.
Slate Hill is not the only area in need of a crash gate to the interstate, sand Brabenec. The Town of Greenville also needs one behind the State Police barracks, he said.
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