Ocean Parkway Repairs to Be Complete by May

Large sections of public highways and sand dunes devastated during Hurricane Sandy will be rebuilt by New York State and completed before May 1, according to Newsday.

Areas to be worked on include the collapsed sections of the eastbound Ocean Parkway, which reopened Monday to single-lane traffic, the traffic circle at Robert Moses State Park, only inches from the now bare sand-cliff worn away and the countless sand dunes swept away by the storm's incredible surge.

Newsday reports estimates on the far-reaching project could be as high as $50 million, but the projects would have to be completed within six months of the storm so the state could qualify for federal reimbursement funds.

"This is an extremely challenging job requiring work 24/7 in severely brutal winter conditions, subject to possibly additional storms along the shore, and within a compressed timeframe, now less than 180 days," said Marc Herbst, head of the Long Island Contractors' Association, told Newsday.

Five Long Island-based construction firms have until December 7th to submit their bids to the Department of Transportation to the projects. These contractors will also work with the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the area and form more fortified dunes.

In addition to rehabilitating the roadway, already temporarily saved by DoT crews' emergency work before the November 6th nor'easter, the state will require a 50-foot high steel sheeting to be driven into the ground to protect the sand from being swept away in the event of a future storm surge. According to Newsday, the sheeting would come above the ground, serving as a vertical barrier behind and between dunes.

Executive emergency powers granted to Governor Andrew Cuomo allowed him to enable the state's DoT to suspend many of the normal procurement and advertising requirements to speed up the process and target the right bidder.

"The state decided to use Long Island firms to keep the work and jobs on Long Island," Herbst told Newsday.

The bids are due to the state by December 7th and a winner will likely be decided upon and announced the following day.