New Traffic Patterns on Main Street in Endicott/Endwell Confusing Drivers
For the past several weeks if not months, road crews have been working on a stretch of 17 C/Main Street in Endwell and Endicott. The project stretched from the Hooper Road entrance ramp in Endwell all the way to the Route 26 entrance ramp in Endicott. That whole portion of RT. 17 C used to be two lanes traveling in each direction.
As of now, it looks like all the construction work is done, but not everything is completely lined yet. If you are heading east from Endicott, once you pass Union-Endicott High School, as you are approaching Route 26, the right lane is turning into a right turn only lane. So you will no longer be able to be in the right lane and continue down 17 C over the Route 26 overpass.
Once you get past the overpass for Route 26, there is only one lane heading eastbound. What was the left hand lane going eastbound is now designated for left turns and merging traffic only.
When you are coming from Endwell traveling west to Endicott, you still have two lanes to drive in until you get to the North Street intersection. At that point, the right lane will be for right turn only on to North Street. If you are traveling westbound, once you get to Route 26, both lanes open up again the way they always have.
I'm sure these changes will help with traffic flow. No longer will you be stuck in the left-hand Lane waiting behind the person in front of you to turn left. They will have to be in that turning lane. The same for people heading eastbound past Dunkin Donuts in Endicott. If you stay in the left-hand lane, people turning into Dunkin Donuts as well as onto Route 26 will be using the right hand lane so you could just zip pass them on the left.
My wife Chris was telling me how she was having a hard time figuring out where to go driving thru there in the dark while it was raining the other night. I didn't think it would be as bad as she made it sound until I found myself in a right turn only lane when I was driving westbound at the intersection with North Street.
I'm sure it will help with traffic flow once everyone gets used to the new traffic patterns. Until then, expect people to be swerving from lane to lane as they try and figure out where they're supposed to be.