Q&A: What's Happening on Doughty Boulevard?

Drivers passing through Inwood on Doughty Boulevard in recent weeks have experienced delays and road closures due to road work being done on the street. To find out exactly what's going on, Patch spoke with Michael Martino, press secretary for the Nassau County Department of Public Works.

What exactly is being done on Doughty Boulevard? Is this part of the to connect the Inwood pumping station to Bay Park?

Approximately 4,700 linear feet of 10" diameter ductile iron force main is being installed along New McNeil Avenue and Doughty Boulevard between the existing Village of Lawrence Water Pollution Control Plant and an existing manhole located at the intersection of Morris Avenue and Doughty Boulevard. The existing manhole is part of the interceptor sewer system, which flows to the Inwood Pumping Station.

This is part of the Consolidation of Sanitary Sewer Services Villages of Cedarhurst and Lawrence Sewage Collection Piping and Force Mains Contract.

What other streets will this project affect? What street(s) will be closed?

No additional streets should be closed. There is ongoing work being performed for National Grid and Long Island American Water in the area that may result in additional road closures, but this work is not part of the Consolidation Project.

What is the best route for someone to take from Far Rockaway to Lawrence?

I cannot provide a best route to take from Far Rockaway to Lawrence, but Sheridan Boulevard will avoid the area while the road restoration takes place.

Is there a general schedule of work that residents should be aware of?

The permanent road restoration is expected to start next week. There are two jacking pits (a pit on both sides of the LIRR and a pit on both sides of NYS Route 878, Nassau Expressway near the Lawrence WPCP) that are scheduled to start in approximately three to four weeks. The jacking pits allow the installation of the piping by tunneling under the LIRR and Nassau Expressway. The pipe jacking at the LIRR is expected to take approximately two weeks and the directional drilling at the Nassau Expressway is expected to take approximately one week. Thereafter the road restoration will follow.

The jacking work near the LIRR may result in temporary road closures, but the directional drilling at the Nassau Expressway should have no impact on traffic since the work is in the shoulder of Cedar Lawn Ave and inside the Lawrence WPCP.

What is the expected date of completion?

The Lawrence Force main work and associated restoration is expected to be completed by mid August 2011.

Will the roads be repaved? When?

The permanent road restoration along Doughty Boulevard from Morris Avenue to Broadway is scheduled to start next week and take about a week to complete. Thereafter, the concrete road restoration is scheduled on New McNeil Avenue, which should take about two weeks. The areas around the jacking pits will be restored right after the work is completed.

What is the cost of the project?

The overall cost of the Consolidation Project, which includes the force main down Peninsula Boulevard, the Cedarhurst gravity sewer, and the subject Lawrence force main, is approximately $13.5 million. The Lawrence force main portion of the project is approximately $2.6 million.