VERIZON REVIEW

The infrastructure improvements come in addition to the steady Verizon Wireless march to build 13 new towers along the I-87 corridor.

Four new Verizon towers have been approved already at Warrensburg, Schroon Falls, North Hudson and on Meadowmount property in Lewis.

A fifth tower is undergoing visual review now, McKeever said.

Plans to build a tower near Poke-o-Moonshine will likely go before APA commissioners next month.

T-Mobile and AT&T use different types of technology from the Verizon Wireless telecommunications systems, which means expansion on the Northway will apply to a variety of users.

As an international thoroughfare, the four-lane highway connects New York City to Montreal.

It passes through several dense wilderness areas through the mountains, with nearly 47 miles of road void of cell-phone service.

The lack of communication infrastructure has exacerbated tragedy in several fatal accidents in the past few years.

It is also frustrating to regional emergency personnel with new ambulance equipment that can enhance response time if fed through a cell phone.

Call boxes -- spaced two miles apart between Northway Exits 26 and 35 -- work, but only if a traveler can walk to reach one.

The concern becomes dire in winter when temperatures drop below zero.

HAMLET SERVICE

Several other Verizon Wireless tower projects are planned in interior regions of the Adirondack Park, including two in the Town of Keene that would deliver service to Route 73, the road connecting I-87 from the south with Lake Placid.

The tower planned near the highway garage in the hamlet of Keene is undergoing visual analysis before APA staff review.