Officials seek to raise road in Quogue

One of the very best parts of the Village of Quogue is the section that runs along Dune Road, where the Atlantic Ocean is separated from the bay by only a few hundred feet of sand.

But, like much of Dune Road, the little stretch of two-lane blacktop - the only way for homeowners to get in or out - is just a few feet above sea level. It floods regularly and is subject to wash-overs in heavy storms. So, since they can't lower the ocean, Quogue officials have proposed raising the road.

The only thing village officials can do when the road begins to flood is to close it, and try to get people out before the road becomes impassible.

"We put up sawhorses when the road is flooded," said Mayor Peter Sartorius. "People have gotten stuck there . . . cars get flooded out."

He said the condition makes it unsafe to evacuate Dune Road in an emergency.

Because the road runs through a sensitive environmental area and raising it could cause new flooding problems, any construction project would have to be approved by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

DEC officials are scheduling a pre-application conference next month - no date has yet been set - to review possible ways the village could raise the road, and what measures would be required to deal with problems such construction would cause.

Sartorius said his village is now exploring options and does not have a specific plan.

The idea of raising this portion of Dune Road - the entire road runs for about nine miles from Westhampton Beach to Shinnecock Inlet - was first raised several years ago, and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) has been working to get the $6 million to $7 million needed to raise the roadbed in Quogue and the low-lying area to the east.