Changing the name of Route 17 to Interstate 86 will boost tourism, increase land values and lure new enterprises to this job-poor county, business leaders said yesterday.
People associate interstates with better roads, no traffic lights and no delays.
It'll really put us on the map. Current maps give the impression that Route 17 is a two-lane country road, added Jacqueline Leventoff, president of the Sullivan County Chamber of Commerce. That means rebuilding the current stoplight intersection at Parksville, which worries local business owners. Many fear they might lose customers if I-86 is rerouted around the hamlet. But for all of the county, I think it will be very good.