U.S. agency OKs Yaphank commercial rail-spur plan

A plan to build a commercial rail spur off the Long Island Rail Road in Yaphank has been approved by a federal transit agency.

The Surface Transportation Board approved a request by Sills Road Realty to build the 3.4-mile spur, allowing it to receive rail deliveries of up to 500,000 tons of aggregate a year. The aggregate - crushed or whole rock used in concrete and asphalt - will be loaded onto trucks for delivery to customers. The aggregate will come from upstate New York.

"The project is intended to reduce Sills' reliance on truck transport of aggregate through the New York City metropolitan region," the board said in its decision. The approval is effective Sept. 20.

The board's Sept. 8 decision was published Monday in the Federal Register, setting next Monday as the deadline for filing final objections to the 28-acre site, which is to be called the Brookhaven Rail Terminal. Local government, residents and civic associations have had several years to provide comment to the board, which will accept petitions to reconsider until next Monday. Petitions must be filed with the board in Washington, D.C.

Some neighbors expressed initial opposition to the project, but at least one local group weighed in in favor of it. In a letter filed with the federal agency, the South Yaphank Civic Association said it "supports the project and looks forward to working with the representatives."