The New York State Department of Transportation plans to fully close Route 22 at Valeria Circle to replace a culvert that Town Supervisor Warren Lucas has called "collapsing." The culvert carries the road over the stream that flows out of Candlewood Lake. As of North Salem News' October 2 report, no start date has been set. Once work begins, it's expected to take eight or more weeks, depending on weather and other factors.
Do the math from today, October 7. Even if crews started tomorrow, eight weeks would run into early December. Every closing date on North Salem's fall calendar comes before that. The orchard festivals end November 1. The current Hammond Museum exhibitions close November 15. Nothing on the calendar outlasts the closure, so this fall gets planned around the detour.
What the Closure Actually Cuts
One lane near Valeria Circle is already shut because of the damaged culvert. Late last month, message boards showed an October 12 start date. NYSDOT said in an October 1 statement that a contractor had turned those signs on by mistake, that they'd been switched off, and that the schedule was still being finalized. Lucas said the department hopes to give the town a few days' notice before the road closes.
When the road does close, the published detour for traffic north of Valeria Circle trying to go south on Route 22 looks like this:
- North on Route 22 to Purdys
- West on Route 116 into Somers
- South on Routes 100 and 138 to Goldens Bridge
- Back onto Route 22 south
The detour has a catch at I-684. Exit 7 in Purdys is the way onto the highway southbound, because Exit 6A in Goldens Bridge only serves northbound traffic. In the September announcement, Lucas named Salem Chase off Whip Mill Lane, Pinegrove Drive and Whittier Hills Drive as streets where getting south will mean going north first.
Morris Road and both Valeria Circle entrances to Route 22 are expected to close to through traffic. Local drivers won't be able to turn onto Route 22 from either road in either direction. A DOT engineer recommended that step because the bridge on Valeria Circle is too narrow for proper two-way traffic. The contractor plans to stage equipment near the Candlewood Park dam, and Lucas said that area will be returned "to its original or better state" when the work is done.
I-684 is the second pressure point. Two lanes, one in each direction, are already closed for repairs. Lucas expects the highway won't have three lanes open "for quite some time," which pushes traffic onto Routes 138, 116, 121, 35, 100 and 202. Route 116 shows up both on that list and in the detour. "There is no good scenario," Lucas said.
The Calendar Runs Out First
None of the town's main fall destinations has an address on Route 22 at Valeria Circle. They're on Hardscrabble Road, Titicus Road and Deveau Road. The closure doesn't block them. It adds time to some routes on some days, at the point when each season is in its last few weeks.
| Destination | Where | Last day this season |
|---|---|---|
| Outhouse Orchards fall season | 139 Hardscrabble Road | November 1 |
| Harvest Moon Fall Festival weekends | 130 Hardscrabble Road | November 1 |
| Mystic Moon evening trail | Harvest Moon | November 1 |
| Five current Hammond Museum exhibitions | Deveau Road | November 15 |
| Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden | Deveau Road | Open Wednesday to Sunday through December |
The closure only changes the timing of these trips, so the dates in the table do more to shape your plans than the detour map does.
Hardscrabble Road, Weekdays and Weekends
The two orchards sit almost across the road from each other, and their weekday and weekend hours differ.
Outhouse Orchards is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays through November 1. Four Fall Friday Nights remain, from 6 to 9 p.m. on October 9, 16, 23 and 30. The seventh annual Howl-O-Ween dog costume parade is Sunday, October 25, and it's a free add-on to a festival ticket. The farm's ticketing page lists the season as ending October 31, while its homepage says November 1. Check before planning around that final Sunday.
At Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard, the split between weekdays and weekends goes further. On weekdays, the farm store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and the café closes at 3 p.m. There's no festival and no apple picking on weekdays. On festival weekends, the festival runs 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the last entry is 2 p.m., and only ticket holders can get into the farm store. That weekend rule runs through November 1. Mystic Moon, a family-friendly evening trail that takes about 40 minutes, also ends November 1.
So if all you want is cider donuts and a bag of apples from the store, a weekday is the simpler trip. You won't need a ticket, and weekday errands are when people are least likely to be adding a Purdys loop to the drive. The farm also lists pasture-raised turkeys, Thanksgiving CSA shares and pies, though its page doesn't yet give 2026 pickup dates.
The Hammond's Last Month of Shows
The Hammond Museum and Japanese Stroll Garden is open Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., through December. Its current exhibitions all close on the same day, November 15:
- "Heaven Come Down: Tomoko Amaki Abe"
- "Fang" by Meg Hitchcock
- "Kurt Steger In the Garden"
- "Matthew Weber: Ground Shift"
- "Poetry of Place" by Soli Pierce
The events calendar adds programs around those final weeks. On Sunday, October 11 at 5:30 p.m., there's a screening of "The Marc Black I Know," with a recommended $20 donation toward the film's production. On Sunday, October 18, from 1 to 3 p.m., the exhibiting artists are "At Home," free with museum admission. Saturday, October 24 is the longest day on the calendar. An Indian classical music lecture-demonstration and student performance run from 3 p.m., with a $15 concert and Indian food for sale. A Garba Celebration follows from 8 to 9:30 p.m., $15 or $10 with a concert ticket.
The participating artists give exhibition talks on Sunday, November 8, from 2 to 4 p.m. The Diwali Celebration, Festival of Lights, runs Saturday, November 14, from 1 to 4 p.m., the day before the shows close, and is free with admission.
Titicus Road Fills the Gaps
The Ruth Keeler Memorial Library at 276 Titicus Road is open Monday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The current program calendar includes "Fancy Nancy and Noble Knights" with dress-up and crafts on Saturday, October 10, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There's "Haunted Objects with Barry Pirro" on Zoom on Tuesday, October 13, and the History Book Group meets Wednesday, October 14, at 7 p.m.
On Monday, October 26, at 5:30 p.m., the library hosts "Spotted Lanternfly: It's here, what now?" with the North Salem Open Land Foundation and Cornell Cooperative Extension. For anyone with mature trees or a garden, it's an hour about something that's already here.
Bluegrass fans have a Sunday afternoon in Purdys. The Westchester Bluegrass Club lists The Barefoot Movement at 33 Lake Way on October 25 at 2 p.m., the same day as the Outhouse dog parade.
Dinner Without Going South
Several dinner options are along Titicus Road and in Croton Falls. Purdy's Farmer & the Fish at 100 Titicus Road serves from noon every day, until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Its farm shop is open noon to 7 p.m. daily. Farther along at 721 Titicus Road, the former Vox property now has two restaurants. Cenadou Bistrot serves Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Sunday at lunch and dinner. La Bastide by Andrea Calstier is open Thursday through Sunday from 5 to 8 p.m.
Primavera Restaurant & Bar, at 592 Route 22 in Croton Falls, is on Hudson Valley Magazine's 2026 Restaurant Week list and serves lunch and dinner every day. The Blazer Pub at 440 Route 22 opens at 11 a.m. daily and stays open until 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Restaurant hours change with the season, so call ahead on a holiday weekend.
Back to the closure: NYSDOT has said it will keep the public and local officials informed. Lucas has said he'll post the detour plan as soon as the town has it, and he plans to tell Waze which roads are closed. Until a firm date is announced, the one lane near Valeria Circle stays closed, and the November 1 and November 15 deadlines are the dates that stay put.
Road work like this tends to raise questions about the infrastructure under your own property, such as an aging culvert at the end of a driveway, drainage around a stream crossing, or a lane that floods every spring. Those are the things Jessica Cunningham looks at as a licensed New York home inspector. If you're curious what your North Salem home is worth with its systems properly accounted for, get your free home valuation.
