Heavy Equipment Being Placed For Irene Cleanup

Convoys of heavy equipment are being placed across Suffolk and Nassau Counties to prepare for hurricane clean up.

The Long Island Contractor's Association, which represents about 150 construction firms, has put its members' inventory of vehicles on a "war footing," placing them at the disposal of county and town highway departments throughout Long Island, Executive Director Marc Herbst said this afternoon at a press conference at 110 Sand Company in Melville.

The fleet will include some of the most powerful payloaders, bulldozers and dump trucks in the region which are typically assigned to create roads, bridges and other heavy construction projects.

"Once the hurricane departs the question is how fast can we assist in restoring power, opening key roads and clearing paths for emergency equipment?" Herbst said.

He added that it took six weeks to fully clean up after Hurricane Gloria in 1985, and that it appears Irene is following the same path.