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Visitors to NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital will be safer and have fewer problems with traffic backups now that long-awaiting traffic improvements on Route 202 are moving forward.

On Wednesday, The Town of Cortlandt and NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital held a groundbreaking ceremony at the Hospital across from the intersection of Route 202 and Lafayette Avenue to mark the long-awaited road improvements on a ½ mile stretch near NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital.

Town Supervisor Linda Puglisi thanked the residents of the town for "being so patient" about the delay in the project, saying it took "10 plus years" to convince the state Department of Transportation to fund the improvements and to work out all the legal and technical aspects of the project. She said the town hoped to break ground in 3 or 4 weeks and finish construction by year’s end.

NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital President John C. Federspiel said that everyone using the Hospital would be much safer once the improvements were completed.

"This roadway improvement project will no doubt be listed among the critical facility improvements for our hospital but it will also be remembered as one of the most important safety initiatives for this community and for those who travel through it every day," said Federspiel.

Among the other speakers at Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony were: Westchester County Legislator John Testa, Cortlandt Town Councilwoman Ann Lindau and Cortlandt Town Engineer Ed Vergaro.

The estimated $2.5 million project funded by the state would add traffic lights at Conklin and Lafayette Avenues, add left turn lanes along Route 202 and realign the Hospital’s exit with Lafayette Avenue.

It took years of lobbying but plans for a realignment of the hospital exit and other traffic improvements were approved by the state’s Department of Transportation in February.

The stretch of roadway in front of the Hospital is heavily used by HVHC’s 1,126 employees, 300 doctors and volunteers, as well as, visitors to the Hospital and medical offices directly across Route 202. With the expansion of the Hospital last summer and the planned opening this fall of a Cancer Center and Medical Office Building on the Hospital campus, traffic is expected to increase.