File:New Junius Ponds Service Area under construction, NYS Thruway, Junius, New York - 20220508.jpg

English: As seen on a May 2022 evening, a heap of asphalt sits outside the partially constructed Junius Ponds Service Area, which upon its opening will serve westbound travellers along the New York State Thruway in the town of Junius, New York. In July of the previous year, the New York State Thruway Authority kicked off a $450 million Service Area Modernization Project which will eventually see all of the 27 such areas along the Thruway extensively redeveloped to accommodate updated amenities such as new restaurants, exterior seating, picnic and play areas for families with children, EV charging stations, comfort centers for pets, and improved services for commercial traffic such as increased truck parking, showers, laundry facilities, and fitness centers. The first phase of the project entailed the closure and demolition of 10 Thruway service areas, including Junius Ponds, in a staggered pattern to ensure that consecutive rest stops in a given direction would never be closed down at the same time. Construction of the new Junius Ponds building was originally scheduled for March 2022, but the contractor in charge of the project earlier announced that "unforeseen issues" (somewhat more specifically, "challenges presented by geopolitical issues, COVID-19, and impacts created by the national and global supply chains") had pushed back the estimated timeframe for reopening to sometime in the summer.