West Shore Road in Mill Neck scheduled to reopen before July Fourth

A contractor on Saturday began paving as one of the final steps in reconstructing West Shore Road in Mill Neck, bringing closer the reopening of the superstorm Sandy-damaged road before July Fourth.

The road, one of two access routes to and from Bayville and Centre Island, has been closed since it was undermined by the storm in October.

The contractor hired by Nassau County has been working six days a week and has made emergency repairs to the entire 2-mile road along Oyster Bay where needed, rebuilt the seawall and installed a new guardrail in the central section.

“The paving operation could take one to two weeks and is very weather-dependent,” county Public Works Department spokesman Michael Martino said.

Striping will take less than a week, Martino said, and “there will be small detail work to do.”

Bayville Mayor Douglas Watson said he was pleased with the progress on reconstructing the road. “I think it will open a little earlier than planned,” he said.

The $5 million project to do emergency repairs and undertake the reconstruction of the center section of the road is scheduled to be completed by July Fourth as specified in the contract. But the road could be opened well before that if work continues to progress before schedule.
 

SEE PHOTOSAerial views of Sandy damage