Heavy rain and wind from a July 3 storm caused minor flooding at the site of a culvert replacement project on Route 199, between Pine Plains and Pulvers Corners.
The roadway had been excavated to a depth of about eight feet on July 2, with equipment installed to divert stream water around the work zone. But a break in one of the large hoses used to reroute the water, combined with the sudden downpour, flooded the newly dug hole.
The delay proved short-lived. By Monday, crews reopened the stream channel, drained the water, repaired the broken hose, and resumed excavation. A new concrete box culvert will be installed once workers dig a sufficient opening in the underlying shale.
The culvert being replaced dates back more than a century, but the history of this stretch of highway is older still.
According to the Dutchess County Historical Society, the roadway closely follows the path of the Salisbury Turnpike, established in 1802 to transport iron and agricultural goods from northwestern Connecticut and eastern Dutchess County to the Hudson River at Rhinebeck. That route, in turn, was shaped by the travel paths of Indigenous people who had lived in the area for centuries, as well as early European settlers.
The alignment remains recognizable today. East of the Taconic State Parkway, Route 199 generally traces the same route as the original turnpike.
An 1802 map of the Salisbury Turnpike, housed in the Dutchess County Clerk’s office, shows two houses on the south side of the road near the current work site — each located on either side of a Shekomeko Creek tributary. On the north side of the road, the map indicates the presence of a “Meeting House,” believed to be the “Red Church” built in 1772 and torn down in 1826. A historical marker and cemetery now stand at that location.
The culvert replacement is expected to be completed by the end of August. When the road reopens, motorists may find themselves tracing not only a repaired route — but a well-worn path through history.