Thruway Authority Announces Start of $4.9 Million North Main Street Bridge Replacement Project Over the Thruway in Madison County

New Structure Will Improve Safety and Increase Vertical Clearance

Bridge Closed to Traffic Through Fall 2026; Signed Detour in Place

Part of $600+ Million in New Construction Projects on the NYS in 2026

The New York State Thruway Authority today announced the start of a $4.9 million project to replace the North Main Street (NYS Route 46) bridge over the Thruway mainline (I-90) at milepost 257.09 in the city of Oneida in Madison County. The 72-year-old bridge, which is original to the Thruway system, will be replaced with a new structure, featuring safety upgrades and enhanced vertical clearance. Approximately 6,400 vehicles per day travel over the bridge.  

“The Thruway Authority is reinvesting toll revenue directly back into the system with our historic Capital Program, addressing aging infrastructure and modernizing the system,” Thruway Authority Executive Director Frank G. Hoare, Esq. said. “These infrastructure projects enhance safety, resiliency and reliability for millions of drivers, and maintain the Thruway as one of the safest and most affordable superhighways in the nation.”

With an anticipated service life of 75 years, the new bridge will carry two 12-foot-wide travel lanes in each direction, and 8-foot-wide shoulders. The project includes an improved riding surface, new bridge railings and enhanced and stabilized slopes. The vertical clearance over the Thruway will also be raised on the new bridge, from 15 feet 5 inches to 16 feet 6 inches to enhance safety and reduce the chance of bridge hits.

The North Main Street bridge closed to all traffic on March 30 and will remain closed until the project is complete in Fall 2026. The Thruway Authority has coordinated with local municipalities including law enforcement, emergency responders, fire departments and local schools in advance of the closure. Additionally, a public information session was held on this project for the local community in August 2025.

A 14-mile signed detour will be in place. Motorists should use NYS Route 31, NYS Route 365, and NYS Route 5, to access North Main Street while the bridge is closed.

Motorists may encounter lane closures on the Thruway in this area during construction. Variable Message Signs will advise motorists of the construction work and detour information. 

Tioga Construction Company Inc. of Herkimer, NY is the project contractor following a competitive bidding process. The project is expected to be completed in Fall 2026. 

The work is weather dependent and subject to change. Motorists are urged to be alert and follow the posted work zone speed limits. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone. Motorists should be aware of an increase in points for violations of speeding in a construction zone.

To further enhance safety for workers in a work zone, Governor Hochul signed legislation establishing the Automated Work Zone Speed Enforcement pilot program. The safety enforcement program began in April 2023 and is in effect in various active construction zones on the Thruway. Work zones with speed camera enforcement will have clear signage leading up to the work zone. Motorists violating the posted speed limit within the work zone will be fined. Violation fines will be issued to the vehicle’s registered owner by mail. More information on the program can be found here.

The Thruway Authority’s approved 2026 budget also invests a total of more than $600 million in capital contracts scheduled to be awarded in 2026, an increase of more than $133.5 million from the 2025 budget projected totals, and one of the largest single-year investments in Thruway history. The 2026 budget includes a historic $2.8 billion Capital Plan for 2026-2030. The five-year plan will fund the replacement or preservation of 150 of the Thruway’s 819 bridges—about 18 percent—and the resurfacing of more than 1,500 of its 2,800 lane miles of highway, or roughly 60 percent.

About the Thruway System

Built in the early 1950s, the Governor Thomas E. Dewey Thruway is one of the oldest components of the National Interstate Highway System and one of the longest toll roads in the nation. It sets the standard for modern highway geometric design with safe roadway characteristics including smooth curves, wide medians and unobstructed driver sight distance.

Year after year, the Thruway system is recognized as one of the safest highways in the nation. In 2024, the Thruway-wide fatality rate was 0.22 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, one of the lowest recorded rates on the Thruway system since fatality rates have been documented in 1954. The figure is significantly lower than the nationwide traffic fatality rate for 2024 of 1.20 and the latest New York State traffic fatality rate from 2023 of 0.93.

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