Almost $2M in road funds for Wyandanch

Almost $2 million in federal funds will go to road reconfiguration and a traffic plaza in downtown Wyandanch, officials said Tuesday.

The project, announced by Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Steve Israel, is part of Wyandanch Rising, the $500-million revitalization initiative that aims to bring mixed-use residence, retail buildings and open space to the community’s downtown.

The plaza will be next to the Long Island Rail Road station and will feature bus pickup and drop-off locations and bicycle storage. The road work will route truck traffic out of downtown, a move aimed at easing bottlenecking at key intersections.

“This project brings us much closer to making the Wyandanch Rising project a reality,” Schumer said in a statement.

Construction could begin as early as fall 2012, Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone has said. The town began contract negotiations in July with Garden City-based Albanese Organization Inc., which would be responsible for guiding the design of the redevelopment, overseeing the construction and securing the capital.