News

Highway Department in mop up mode

PETER BOODY PHOTO | An uprooted tree at Menantic and West Neck roads.

Supervisor Jim Dougherty said this morning after meeting with town officials that power has been restored around much of the Island, there are still outages in Hay Beach, Ram Island and Shorewood and sporadic outages in other areas, Supervisor  Dougherty said.

Highway Department workers continue to remove debris from roadways and carting it to the recycling center, Superintendent Jay Card Jr. said. But he estimated it would be about two weeks before all the debris had been removed and his crew can start concentrating on work that needs to be done to repair town infrastructure.

He and newly appointed town engineer John C. Cronin have been out assessing problems.

Shell Beach is closed to vehicles and has experienced “serious erosion,” Mr. Card said. Parts of the Ram Island Causeways have been compromised and will need work. The Dawn Lane bulkhead has been damaged and while it’s “not failing yet,” it could at any time, he said. Also, hundreds of feet of fencing at Crescent Beach were lost in the storm.

They’ll continue checking other areas and compiling a list of projects that will  be tackled after the immediate cleanup is completed, he said.

Once they have identified damage and estimated costs of repair, they’ll be working with the Town Board to prioritize work and address budgeting to handle those repairs that are critical.

Through next Wednesday at 1 p.m., the recycling center will accept storm-related debris without charge. That includes limbs and trees and construction debris from broken docks, bulkheads and damaged boats. Seaweed and ground wood chips will also be accepted without charge.

But it’s important that bundles of debris be tightly bound. Some of the debris coming to the recycling center hasn’t been properly bound, and that causes a problem getting it over the scales, Mr. Card said.

Mr. Card said he and  Highway Department workers heard compliments from residents about their efforts both during and in the aftermath of the storm.

“If you think my guys did a good job, send cookies,” Mr. Card joked.

The Reporter will continue to follow activities on the Island to restore power and clean up debris and will post updates as information becomes available.