Northern Parkway leaves 15 drivers with flat tires in Plainview repaving area

About 15 drivers were stranded in bone-chilling rain along the Northern State Parkway Saturday night after some popped their tires at the site of a repaving project in the Plainview area.

State Police said about 9:15 p.m. they were sending troopers to the scene, but the road remained open some 15 minutes later and drivers continued to pull onto the grassy roadside.

Some drivers reported hitting a deep, rain-filled pothole in eastbound lanes between exits 37 and 38, where asphalt was torn up for repaving. Others believed they hit a piece of drainage equipment exposed by the roadwork.

"How many taxes do we pay on Long Island, and this is what we get?" said Tom Weigl, 48, of Commack, who said his front-end dipped and rattled as he hit what he thought was a pothole. "Why aren't the cops closing the road now?"

John Conroy, 59, of East Northport said he heard a loud pop after hitting what he thought was an exposed grate, and his two left tires went flat. "Thank goodness nobody's gotten hurt," he said.

Newsday reported in mid-October that crews would be ripping up "distressed" pavement and laying down a new surface on eastbound lanes of the Northern State.

State officials said the lanes were scheduled to be closed for a month on weekdays between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., but the work was weather-dependent.

It wasn't immediately clear how many cars were stranded Saturday night. Some drivers arrived at the scene to bring spare tires for friends or relatives. Three tow trucks were removing some vehicles.

Some drivers knelt with tire irons in hand while others held flashlights for them in the rain.

"I'd really like to be home right now," said one woman, who declined to give her name and whose car had two flat tires. "A sign about a pothole -- would it kill them?"