Suffolk County officials unveiled plans last night for the reconstruction of a 1.6 mile stretch of County Road 48 between Horton and Goldin lanes in Southold.
Legislator Al Krupski and representatives of the Department of Public Works presented the plans during a sparsely attended forum at the Peconic Lane Community Center.
The county road work plans include:
- milling and resurfacing;
- the reconfiguration of Boisseau Avenue to eliminate the rotary and eastbound merge lane and create a standard T intersection;
- construction of new, dedicated right-turn lanes at Horton Lane and Youngs Avenue;
- sidewalk improvements, including accessible pedestrian ramps;
- new traffic signals at the Horton and Youngs intersections which will have pedestrian pushbuttons and countdown pedestrian signals; and
drainage work, including a new recharge basin, that will completely eliminate runoff into Hashamomuck Pond. - Work on the project will begin after Labor Day this year and be completed by Memorial Day next year, Suffolk DPW chief engineer William Hillman said.
The county would like to keep one lane open in each direction for the duration of the project, but that will depend on the condition of the concrete panels under the asphalt, Hillman said. If those need replacement, a detour becomes likely, he said. Westbound traffic would be detoured to Route 25, he said, since that will have less impact on Main Road traffic flow — detoured westbound cars would make right, rather than left, turns onto Main Road. Eastbound traffic would then be temporarily rerouted into the westbound lanes.
The county completed a reconstruction project on the eastern portion of CR 48 last year.
The estimated cost of this phase of the project is about $4 million, Hillman said.
Krupski said he is happy the reconstruction work will eliminate all runoff into the wetlands of Hashamomuck Pond. As a Southold Trustee, Krupski worked with the county in the 1980s to get drainage work done to improve Hashamomuck Pond, he said.
“We were able to get Hashamomuck opened up to shellfishing again as a result of those improvements,” Krupski said.
The new work — cleaning up an existing recharge basin to make it functional again and installing a new recharge basin — will eliminate leaching pools that presently drain into the wetlands of a “finger” of the pond.
Southold Councilman William Ruland said last night the reconstruction work is much-needed.
“When you look at the number of tragedies that have happened in just that stretch, you see that something needs to be done,” Ruland said. “The proof comes when it’s done. How does it work? We’ll see.”
Top photo: Suffolk County DPW traffic engineering director Dan Dresch speaks with DPW’s chief engineer William Hillman, left, Legis. Al Krupski, right, and resident Richard Wheeler at last night’s meeting in Southold. Photos: Denise Civiletti
