ELIZABETHTOWN -- One Essex County lawmaker wants lockable gates installed at all the Adirondack Northway entrance ramps in the county.

Supervisor David Blades (R-Lewis), a retired state trooper, said the gates would enable the interstate to easily be closed in the event of an emergency.

"Any supervisor understands the resources that go into closing down that Northway, such as in snowstorms. The highway departments have been overused, at least in the Town of Lewis."

Blades said local highway departments and fire companies have had to devote personnel who could be used elsewhere to closing the on ramps.

If there were gates, those could simply be swung shut and locked, he said. The gates would have a sign that Interstate 87 was closed due to an emergency.

Some interstates out West already have such gates, he said.

The County Board of Supervisors has agreed to ask the State Department of Transportation to install the gates.

During the fatal Greyhound bus rollover on I-87 in 2006, local fire police initially closed the entrance ramps, then were replaced by DOT workers. That crash was between exits 30 and 31 in Essex County.

DOT Region 1 Public Information Coordinator Peter Van Keuren said the county's request hasn't arrived at DOT offices yet.

"We have not received official word from the board. When we do, we'll consider the request, but to my knowledge there are no other locations in the state where gates exist to prohibit entrance onto an interstate highway."

lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com