The completion of a $1.4 million road improvement project at a major intersection in Putnam County will clear the path to millions of dollars in economic development in the years to come, state officials say.

The addition of traffic lights and wider turning lanes at the intersection of State Route 311 and Interstate 84 in Patterson stalled during the pandemic. It was then jump started with the help of state grants secured by State Sen. Pete Harckham and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the Senate's majority leader.

On one side of the intersection, a developer has plans for a retail complex known as Patterson Crossing and on the other will be the Patterson Inn hotel.  The two projects are expected to deliver $13 million in annual sales tax revenue once they open.

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"This $1.415 million investment at Route 311 and I-84 is already paying dividends for Patterson," Stewart-Cousins said. "It sets the stage for what's coming next for this corridor, from Patterson Crossing to the Patterson Inn, and the hundreds of jobs and millions in new tax revenue these projects will bring."

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Paterson Crossing, on route 311 west of I-84, is expected to generate 50 construction jobs and over 500 full and part-time jobs. The Paterson Inn, east of I-84, will deliver 60 construction jobs and over 100 hotel, restaurant and retail jobs.

"This will help to make Patterson the destination it deserves to be, and these two projects will both be a home run, with revenue and job creation that will be extraordinary," said Kathleen Abels, president of the Putnam County Economic Development Corporation."

Thomas C. Zambito covers energy, transportation and economic growth for the USA TODAY Network's New York State team. He's won dozens of state and national writing awards from the Associated Press, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Deadline Club and others during a decades-long career that's included stops at the New York Daily News, The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record of Hackensack. He can be reached at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: $1.4M NY state road project in Putnam set to bolster region's economy