By GREGORY ZELLER //
Albany is pouring more than $30 million into a multifaceted Long Island road-resurfacing effort.
Specifically, the New York State Department of Transportation will be doing the pouring – bituminous coal asphalt, a.k.a. “blacktop” – with the $30.6 million coming from the $285 million earmarked in the state’s FY 2022 budget for local roadway projects. That nine-digit chunk of change is part of a multiyear $1 billion state investment targeting statewide highways, bridges and aviation-related infrastructure.
On Long Island, motorists on six state roads across Nassau and Suffolk counties will enjoy 20 total miles of smoother and safer roadbeds through improvement projects announced this week. The work is focused on “key roadways for the flow of people and goods,” according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office, with all six individual projects – one in Nassau, five in Suffolk – slated to be completed by the end of 2022.
Marie Therese Dominguez: Economic boost.
The Nassau County project is already underway, spanning Glen Cove Road between North Hempstead and Oyster Bay. Two inches of fresh asphalt will cover the aging roadbed, topped off with new reflective lane markers and bordered by curb ramps meeting standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Storm drains along the route are also slated to be cleaned and repaired, or rebuilt if necessary.
Similar renewal efforts are planned for Jericho Turnpike (State Route 25) from the county border to Deer Park Road in the Town of Huntington; State Route 112 between Sunrise Highway and the Long Island Expressway in the Town of Brookhaven; and Main Street/Montauk Highway between Islip Avenue and Sunrise Highway in the Town of Islip.
Also smoothing out and cleaning up will be Middle Country Road between Terry Road and State Route 347 in the Town of Smithtown, and State Route 27 between South Etna Avenue and the Montauk Point Lighthouse in East Hampton.
Motorists are urged to proceed slowly and carefully through the construction zones, where fines for speeding are doubled and two speeding convictions can lead to a driver’s license suspension. Drivers can track road closures and construction-related delays on this state-run dashboard or by calling 511.
In a statement, Cuomo called the myriad road projects “the groundwork for our post-COVID reconstruction and recovery,” while DOT Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez agreed the work would “boost economic growth.”
“New York State is building back better and creating a more resilient infrastructure,” Dominguez added. “These projects will improve driving conditions along some of Long Island’s most important roadways.”
