WPCNR WHITE LINE REPORT. From a White Plains CitizeNetReporter with The Albany Times-Union. June 14, 2005: A driving rainstorm washed out both lanes of the New York State Thruway "Northway" between Exits 23 and 25 between Warrensburg and Chestertown last night, parallel to Lake George, the vacation destination. The Northway is the main route to Lake George, a major amusement park and The Adirondacks, from the South and the North. The local figure skating instructor reporting the weather incident said she returned from Lake Placid this morning said she was detoured down Route 9 past the closed thruway, a distance of sixteen miles.
Our correspondent said heavy rain in The Adirondacks had saturated the area where the landslide occurred, and the sudden torrential rains apparently caused the slide. No motorists were caught in the sudden slide according to the Albany Times Union newsroom. For details on the landslide and closure, WPCNR recommends going to http://www.timesunion.com The site has a photograph of the catastrophic cave-in and mud-slide. There is also a map for motorists wishing to know the detour.
A reporter at the city Desk of the Times Union reports to WPCNR it will take at least until Monday to open both North and Southbound Lanes. She said it is blocking the major route to the upstate vacation land and Canada. Motorists should be prepared to take alternate routes when traveling upstate to the Dacks this weekend, or downstate.
Massive traffic jams are routine along the Lake George corridor on summer weekends, and this closure is not going to be pleasant.
From the Albany Times Union:
Warren County roads that remain closed include County Routes 10 and 11; Schroon River Road; Valley Woods Road; and Finkle Road.
Northbound Detour: Exit 23, left turn onto County Road 35/Diamond Point Road, right turn onto Route 9 North, right turn onto Route 8 and re-enter I-87 at Exit 25. Southbound Detour: Exit 25, right turn onto Route 8, left turn onto Route 9 South, left turn onto County Road 35/Diamond Point Road, re-enter I-87 at Exit 23. NOTE: Motorists heading for Bolton Landing need to use Exit 22 to Route 9N north.
Note: More information on the traffic chaos above Albany on the Northway detours can be found on Thursday's Albany Times Union website at http://www.timesunion.com