Note: The article originally appeared in riverjournalonline.com
Call them bumps, humps or hummocks: You’ve felt them underfoot or under your wheels on the Mario Cuomo Bridge’s popular Shared Use Path.
The annoying blisters dotting the 3.6-mile path that connects Rockland and Westchester counties have been there practically since it opened six years ago and have continued to burst through the asphalt.
A substandard job by the bridge’s paving contractor resulted in asphalt that doesn’t adhere to the concrete deck, according to Dan Convissor of the advocacy group Bike Tarrytown.
While the problem is less acute on the roadway, where vehicles are continually pressing the asphalt back down, it’s highly evident on the SUP, Convissor’s group wrote to the state Thruway Authority’s Board of Directors in December. “People using the path experience tripping hazards and jarring journeys.”
Above: Damage to the surface of the shared use path in an Aug. 10, 2026, photo.
The state is taking steps to smooth the pathway but must do so through an infrastructure budget primarily funded by toll revenue spread across the length of the 570-mile Thruway system, according to spokesman Khurram Saeed.
“For the past few years, our crews have removed surface blisters through micro-milling and we continue to monitor the path’s condition,” Saeed said in August. “The Authority is actively looking at making long-term repairs using our Capital Program.”
Convissor said milling the tops off bumps and spot patching have not stopped the treated hummocks from rising and new ones from bursting through. He called this approach “piecemeal” and was only delaying the inevitable need for a full resurfacing.
Milling doesn’t smooth the surface, Convissor said. it’s still rough.
“It’s uncomfortable,” he said. “It’s not pleasurable. You should be up there enjoying yourself.”
VIDEO: See the bumps and bruises
On a recent weekday morning in August, the micro-milled bumps made for a lumpy, uneven bike ride back and forth on the path. While some stretches were smoother than others, clusters of the pockmarks were difficult to avoid without moving into the pedestrian lane, which often wasn’t in much better condition.
Nearly 1 million people have visited the scenic SUP across the Hudson River since it opened in June 2020; about 135,000 people, mostly pedestrians, visited in 2025, according to the Thruway Authority. The speed limit is 15 mph.
Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner, an avid cyclist who crosses the bridge several times a year, noticed the bumps less than a year after the bridge opened and complained to the state.
“The path that cyclists and pedestrians use was one of the most important features of the new bridge,” he said, adding that the state should ask the contractor to absorb the costs of the repairs.
“It’s not fun or safe for cyclists/pedestrians to use a bridge path that is bumpy and constantly getting worse,” Feiner said.
As conditions worsen for drivers, the Thruway Authority may be forced to take action, said Convissor, who plans to continue lobbying state elected officials to push for resurfacing the SUP.
Robert Brum 