|
MELVILLE
A $27.9-Million Bridge Of Opportunity
Route 110 bridge over LIE to be expanded to
three lanes over next two years
By Sara-Megan Walsh/swalsh@longislandernews.com
The New York State Department of Transportation broke
ground on a $27.9 million project to reconstruct and expand of the jewel
of Long Islands economy the Route 110 bridge over the
LIE in Melville on Monday.
Ask people to cite the major issue along the Route 110 corridor,
and most will say its traffic congestion, said Supervisor
Frank Petrone, also chairman of the Route 110 Partnership. This
project will help speed traffic at the busiest portion of Long Islands
Main Street and, combined with planned public transportation improvements,
accelerate development along this vital artery in the Long Island economy.
The Route 110 corridor will receive a much needed face lift in an effort
to improve or eliminate reported concerns including a propensity for fender
benders, safety issues with the entrance and exit ramps of the LIE,
and the uneven asphalt that plagues the overpass, according to US Senator
Charles Schumer (D Brooklyn). The two-year project will expand
the overpass to accommodate three full travel lanes and shoulders in both
directions, intersection improvements where Route 110 connects with the
LIE, and improvement of storm water runoff to enhance motorist safety.
With 30 million coming to Huntington, Long Islanders can breath
easier knowing they are safer traveling on Route 110, Schumer said,
estimating that 88,000 motorists cross the overpass daily.
Although the project ultimately aims to improve traffic congestion along
Route 110, it remains to be seen what impact it will have on local travel
while construction, set to begin immediately, is underway.
To minimize the impact on traffic, work will be done at night, phased
such as to allow continued use of the bridge during the day, said
DOTs Acting Commissioner Stan Gee.
He said that lane closures at night will be limited to only the lane in
which work is ongoing, though residents may have to cope with construction
vehicles moving in and out of the zone during daylight hours.
Local officials expect the reconstruction project to provide a much needed
boost to the local economy, supplying more jobs to the hard-hit construction
industry, with an unemployment rate over 35 percent, according to the
Long Island Contractors Assocations Executive Director Marc Herbst,
as well as provide additional incentive to commercial companies looking
to move their business to the corridor.
We are trying to create a new economy and new jobs on Long Island
and within New York State, said Congressman Steve Israel (D-Huntington).
You cant create new jobs if people cant get to them.
Petrone and Schumer both alluded to forthcoming projects in which local
officials will focus on further improving transportation options along
the Route 110 corridor by attempting to re-open Republic Station on the
Long Island Expressway and adding more buses.
This is not the first or the last DOT construction project youll
see this summer, Gee promised. Were putting people back
to work to improve, maintain and enhance the transportation of Long Island.
|
|
|
|
Click
Here To Enlarge Photo
|
Officials break ground on the expansion
of the Route 110 bridge over the LIE in Melville.
Half Hollow Hills photo/ Sara-Megan Walsh |
|