A major milestone is being reached in the construction of the new Daj connector road, as crews complete the extensive work of raising the roadway to the same elevation as County Route 105.

The project required a significant amount of fill to bring the new road up to the necessary height, along with retaining walls on both sides to support the elevated roadway. That phase of the project is now nearing completion, with the connecting road reaching the level of County Route 105.

The new road is being constructed to create an additional connection from County Route 105 to Niniger Road and improve access into Kiryas Joel.

Village officials say that, from the Village's side, construction is expected to be completed by November. However, the actual opening of the roadway will depend on two additional components involving outside utility and traffic-signal work.

First, Orange & Rockland must relocate three utility poles that currently stand in the way of opening the new roadway. The Village must wait for the utility company to complete that work before the connector road can be opened to traffic.

The second component involves modifications to the traffic signal at County Route 105. The existing signal currently controls traffic from three directions, but with the addition of the new connector road, it must be upgraded to accommodate a fourth approach.