By Y.M. Lowy

A record 800,000 travelers stopped at New York State Thruway service areas during the July 4 holiday travel week, marking the busiest Independence Day period ever for the recently modernized facilities.

The New York State Thruway Authority and service area operator Applegreen announced that more than 360,000 purchases were made across the Thruway’s 27 service areas, meaning roughly one out of every two travelers who stopped made a purchase.

This was the first July 4 holiday since the completion of the $450 million private redevelopment project that rebuilt or renovated all 27 Thruway service areas along the 570-mile highway system. The project included 23 newly built service areas and major upgrades to four existing locations, all completed without using taxpayer or toll dollars.

During the busy travel week, Applegreen’s approximately 2,000 employees worked a combined 54,000 hours to serve the record number of visitors.

Today’s Thruway service areas feature upgraded convenience stores, popular food and coffee brands, EV charging stations, nursing stations, improved services for commercial truck drivers, farmers’ market locations, and Taste NY products showcasing nearly 30 New York food and beverage vendors.