"I have seen some tractor trailers have problems, but every one of our trucks has been through the new [roundabout in front of Tracy Hall], and we don't have any problems now that they have filled the ditches in around the curbing," said Chief Tuthill.

"We get through there without any problems. With the van-style ambulances [which are the width of normal vans], we get wherever we need to," said the rescue squad's Johnson.

The redesign has come under fire recently from business owners and residents, who complain of difficulties navigating the new roundabout and narrowness of the village streets caused by "bump-outs" that demarcate crosswalks. Numerous blown tires have been reported by drivers who have struck the curbs put in place by construction crews.

Richard E. Lindmark, a 911 dispatcher, volunteer firefighter, member of the Chatham Rescue Squad, and creator of Columbia Page, an online resource for emergency services in Columbia County, reports that, “One concern I have heard from Chatham firefighters is the crosswalk on Hudson Ave near Hoffman St. It makes it difficult for a fire truck to pull out from the firehouse and head north on Hudson Ave. I'm sure with snow it will make in even more difficult.”

Chief Tuthill stated that while he could envision some difficulty navigating a truck onto Route 66 during a heavy traffic period because of the narrowness created by the bump-outs and drivers who “completely freeze" when seeing a fire truck pull onto the roadway, he doesn't view the bump-outs as a concern.

"I don't see it as an issue. We can, and have, gotten our trucks through there," noted Tuthill, who drives large trucks for a living.

The State Department of Transportation project started in the fall of 2007 following more than a year of design work and public meetings. Extensive public input on the project was sought and received at meetings held in the Chatham firehouse and elsewhere.

According to Department of Transportation spokeswoman Sandra Jobson, the project was deemed necessary because of "serious" drainage problems in the area and what DOT officials determined to be traffic concerns at the circle in front of Tracy Hall, as well as at the intersection of Main Street and Railroad Avenue.