Bridge Parapet Replacement To Begin On Long Island

ALBANY, NY (10/11/2012)(readMedia)-- New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Commissioner Joan McDonald today announced that work has begun on a $10 million contract to replace bridge parapets on 16 Long Island bridges through Governor Cuomo's NY Works initiative.

"Governor Cuomo's NY Works program speeds up our bridge and highway reconstruction efforts and puts people back to work," Commissioner McDonald said. "Projects like this are part of a robust road and bridge reconstruction program – the traveling public has been seeing nearly twice as much highway work than just last year. We ask motorists to be patient and drive carefully through construction zones."

Parapets, the low masonry walls along each side of the bridges, are being replaced with reinforced concrete. Fencing will be installed to enhance pedestrian safety and curbs and sidewalks are being reconstructed or installed. The bridges being addressed as part of this project carry roads over the Meadowbrook and Southern State parkways in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

NY Works focuses on improving bridges that are in fair condition and bringing them to good condition. This preventive maintenance work will better preserve the state's infrastructure and guard against the need for more costly, in-depth construction. Bundling projects sites within close geographic locations into a single contract enables DOT to lower expenses and obtain lower bids.

Work on the first locations will begin this month and will be completed early next summer. The bridges include:

• Little East Neck Road over the Southern State Parkway eastbound and westbound in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County;

• Belmont Avenue over the Southern State Parkway eastbound and westbound in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County; and

• New Highway over the Southern State Parkway eastbound and westbound in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County.

Construction on the rest of the bridges within the contract will begin next spring and be completed in 2014, including:

• Zeckendorf Boulevard over the Meadowbrook State Parkway in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County;

• Merchants Concourse over the Meadowbrook State Parkway in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County;

• Bellmore Avenue over the Southern State Parkway eastbound and westbound in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County;

• Oakfield Avenue over the Southern State Parkway eastbound and westbound in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County;

• Route 231, Deer Park Avenue, over the Southern State Parkway eastbound and westbound in the Town of Babylon, Suffolk County; and

• Udall Road over the Southern State Parkway eastbound and westbound in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County.

The contractor for this project is Bove Industries of Setauket, Suffolk County.

511NY is New York State's official traffic and travel information source. The 511NY website and mobile app provides free, 24/7, statewide real-time traffic and transit information for all of New York State. It also offers a transit trip planner, camera views, as well as weather alerts and forecasts. New features available at the site – www.511ny.org – include additional mobile app features, border crossing times, new notifications on the home page and an interface that is easier to navigate.

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