Dune Road Paving Project To Address Chronic Flooding Kicks Off

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — After years of heavy flooding and backwash on Dune Road during storms, Southampton Town is taking action — with work slated to begin next week.

The Southampton town board approved the emergency work at a special meeting on Thursday with a resolution to authorize Southampton Highway Superintendent Alex Gregor to use money from the existing paving budget to resurface portions of Dune Road that see persistent heavy flooding during high tides, Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said.

The town will lay at least 10,000 tons of fresh asphalt in some areas between the Ponquogue Bridge and the Quogue Village line.

“We need to take immediate action,” said Supervisor Jay Schneiderman. “We can no longer wait for funding" from federal, state, or county officials, he said.

The $1 million dollar project will begin next week and run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday with flagmen directing traffic into alternating lanes to minimize inconvenience to drivers, Schneiderman said.

The first phase of the project will begin just west of the Ponquogue Bridge and bring the resurfacing job just west of Tiana Beach. The area west of that point to the Quogue Village line will be done in September and October to avoid inconvenience during the summer months.

“I appreciate the efforts of the Town Board and I look forward to the completion of this project,” Gregor said.

The road project is necessary to prevent road closures from persistent flooding and comes from unspent funds in the highway department budget originally allocated as part of a $7 million dollar estimated project to repave the road and heighten it by as much as 20 inches, along the same stretch. But efforts to raise the balance of the funding through grants and other funding sources so far have been unsuccessful, so the town decided to move forward to mitigate concerns.

“This project will bring Dune Road up to the level that provides safety for drivers and makes the road passable during high tides,” Schneiderman said.