This is the City of New Rochelle with an important traffic advisory. A New York State Thruway Authority construction project will begin next week. There will be periodic lane closures in the vicinity of North Avenue near I-95 and our Transit Center, beginning with the closing of one block of Burling Lane. Closures on North Avenue itself will become more frequent starting in mid-April. We urge you to monitor conditions and make your commuting and other travelling plans accordingly.

For more information, visit www.newrochelleny.com/northaveconstruction.

Following is additional background about why this is happening and what is likely to occur moving forward.

The North Avenue bridge than spans I-95 has reached the end of its useful life, and must be replaced. The first phase of this project alone, which entails utility relocation, is expected to take about 18 months. Although at least one lane of traffic in both directions will be open for most of that time, frequent bottlenecks and delays will be unavoidable.

White Plains, NY – The Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) plans to protest the application of Liberty Lines Transit, Inc., for service modifications of the Route 13 bus line in a special resolution, which will be discussed and voted on tomorrow morning at the meeting of the BOL’s Government Operations Committee.

The protest and resolution come in the aftermath of County Executive Rob Astorino’s abrupt cancellation of the Route 76 bus line service between Port Chester and Milton Point in Rye on December 27, 2011, with service officially stopping on December 31, 2011. Regular passengers of the 76 bus—and BOL members—learned that the service was being discontinued on Wednesday, December 27, during a week when many were taking a winter vacation between Christmas and New Year’s.

There were no public hearings held on the subject.

On December 22, just days before Astorino summarily axed the bus line service, the BOL had voted to override the County Executive’s veto of $243,436 of spending in the 2012 County Budget for the Route 76 line.

Get ready for commuter hell in New Rochelle courtesy of the New York State Thruway Authority.

The North Avenue Utility Relocation Project will begin next week. Over the next year and a half, utility lines carried by the North Avenue Bridge will be relocated in anticipation of demolishing the bridge in 2015. The bridge will then be replaced.

VOTE NOW: Will the Closing of North Avenue in May Have a Major Impact on You?

New Rochelle's traffic nightmare begins on February 23rd with minor street closings on North Avenue near the New Rochelle train station. By April, there will be complete lane closures on North Avenue and by mid-May the area around the train station at North Avenue (Station Plaza North, Burling Lane, and Garden Street. Parking in the area will also be closed off intermittently which will impact residences and medical offices along Burling Lane.

New Rochelle residents were warned by City officials to stay away from the area around the train station during the construction period which begins in earnest around May 15th and is expected to go on for 18 months.

UPDATE: See Editor's Note after the jump.

Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore announced that Tanisha Gomez (DOB 06/18/85) of 132-39 88th Street, Ozone Park, New York, pled guilty today to all counts of a nine count indictment that charged her with:

• three counts of Aggravated Vehicular Homicide, class “B” Felonies,
• one count of Manslaughter in the Second Degree, a class “C” Felony,
• one count of Vehicular Assault in the First Degree, a class “D” Felony,
• one count of Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, an unclassified Misdemeanor in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law,
• two counts of Driving While Intoxicated, unclassified Misdemeanors in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law,
• one count of Reckless Driving, an unclassified Misdemeanor in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today traveled to West Hempstead, Nassau County, to sign a new law that will reduce the MTA payroll tax, providing relief for more than 290,000 small businesses and more than 410,000 self-employed New Yorkers. The tax reduction is part of the Governor's comprehensive plan, passed by the legislature last week, to create jobs and cut taxes for middle class New Yorkers, and revitalize the state's economy.

"Small businesses are New York's growth engine and this tax reduction will help create jobs and get our state's economy back on track without jeopardizing funding for the MTA," Governor Cuomo said. "I thank the leadership as well as the members of the legislature for their dedication in seeing the MTA tax reduced and working to get our economy moving again."

Two New Rochelle garbage trucks are in service despite expired New York State inspection stickers. Some drivers are refusing to drive the trucks for feat of being ticketed. Under New York State law the operator of the vehicle, not the owner, is charged for operating a vehicle without a valid inspection sticker.

Garbage truck 55 and 56 both have expired inspection stickers.

They have not been inspected because the vehicles would not pass inspection, sources say. There are a number of other DPW vehicles that have valid inspection stickers but would not pass inspection either, according to these same sources.