New lights will help with detour

    PENN YAN—New traffic lights at the corner of Lake and East Main Street are part of the traffic detour system put in place for the Liberty Street replacement project. The Liberty Street bridge in Penn Yan will close for nine months on Monday, Sept. 12. The New York State Department of Transportation will replace the span. The project is expected to be completed before Memorial Day, 2012.
    The Liberty Street bridge is one of just two ways to cross the Keuka Lake Outlet in the heart of the village. The second is the Main Street bridge, one block away. Extensive planning has been ongoing for months to devise detours within the area.
    Penn Yan Public Works Director Brent Bodine spoke about the project recently. Bodine said one big thing will be a left turn only signal for northbound traffic on the Main Street bridge. There will be two lanes of northbound traffic and one southbound lane on the Main Street bridge. Parking on the bridge will be prohibited.
    Traffic signals are in place at the south end of the bridge where Lake Street meets East Main Street. This is a change from the long-standing caution lights north and south and the stop light for vehicles entering West Main Street.
    New traffic lights have also been installed at the two corners of Main Street north of the outlet.  Water Street will be a dead end at Nielsen’s at the corner of Water and Wagner Streets.
    There are three other ways to cross the Keuka Lake Outlet. Cherry Street in the village joins Seneca Street with East Main Street. The village can also be accessed using the bridge at Ridge Road to Outlet Road west into Penn Yan.
    Bodine said, “I hope they meet the deadline of Memorial Day opening. There are no guarantees.”