Preliminary work began in late April 1967 on the construction of the next segment of the Southern Tier Expressway. By June, construction through Nichols was visible, with construction of the interchange at Stanton Hill Road, along with draining pipes for construction of the new bridge across the Susquehanna River of NY 282. In January 1969, the state announced that the new bridge across the Susquehanna River would open on January 14, receiving its first traffic at 10 a.m. The road was opened early during construction of NY 17 to permit the demolition of the old toll bridge to go forward. The Perini firm took dynamite to the center span of the old bridge on February 6, 1969, with the eight charges causing the center spans to fall in the river.