Sunrise Highway emergency repairs restrict travel in Hampton Bays

Only the shoulder of westbound Sunrise Highway near the Shinnecock Canal in the Town of Southampton will be open to drivers for the next week after Thursday’s storms caused critical erosion damage to the bridge, which serves as a vital link to the South Fork.

Eastbound lanes of the highway remain open. 

Town Supervisor Maria Moore on Friday morning declared a state of emergency, and in an announcement on the town’s website, stated that as of 9 p.m. Thursday, parts of eastern Suffolk County had recorded 2 to 3 inches of rain. That caused erosion and conditions that “threaten and/or imperil the public safety of the citizens of the Town of Southampton,” according to the announcement.

The state of emergency authorizes the supervisor to "take whatever actions are necessary to protect life and property, and public infrastructure, and to perform other such emergency assistance as deemed necessary."

Southampton Town Police Chief James Kiernan told Newsday that Thursday’s rainfall caused a tree to come down near the bridge over the Shinnecock Canal in Hampton Bays. When the state Department of Transportation came to remove the tree, workers “saw an enormous amount of erosion” around the bridge “to the extent that it was dangerous.”

“It looked pretty bad,” he said of the damage.

DOT spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said in an email there was "significant scour and erosion to the bridge’s abutment."

He said the agency "understands the importance" of the roadway to area residents and is expediting repairs, which he said would begin Saturday morning and last for a week.

Only one westbound lane, the shoulder, will remain open to motorists during that time, he said. Drivers should also expect "intermittent shoulder closures on Canal Road" near the bridge, he said.

Kiernan predicted “a lot of congestion” while repairs continue at the bridge. 

On Friday, police used drones — a challenge in Friday's high winds, Kiernan said — to try to keep the traffic flowing “so that we can get the kids home for Halloween, get emergency vehicles to pass through and people coming home from work.”

The town’s highway department is also helping to direct traffic through an artery that’s “usually a choking point,” Kiernan said.

Officials are encouraging motorists to avoid the area if possible or plan for extra travel time.