Westbury Mayor Peter Cavallaro discussed the Ellison Avenue Bridge repair at last night’s Village Board meeting. The bridge which has been in disrepair for some time will have a complete renovation starting in May of next year. This is part of a $40 million dollar MTA Capital budget item.
“The board has been working with the LIRR for over 20 years to replace this bridge and there have been a lot of twists and turns in the process,” said Cavallaro. “I’m happy to say with the help of Senator Jack Martins who has worked with the LIRR we are able to move this project forward.”
Cavallaro also credited former Senators Charles Fuschillo and Michael Balboni with their help in getting the project off the ground.
Last month the LIRR received Requests for Proposals on bids for the project which Mayor Cavallaro called, “an important and necessary step to get the contracts moved along.”
The reconstruction will mean road closures to the area but Cavallaro has a plan in place for when the work is started.
“We will have local traffic only coming in from major roads such as Jericho Turnpike and Old Country Road and detour traffic in and around Maple and Post Avenues and Cherry Lane,” said Cavallaro.
Work including demolition and reconstruction of the bridge is set for May of next year. According to Cavallaro the contract that is in place requires that Ellison Avenue not be closed for more than a year while the repairs take place.
“There will be steep penalties for work being done over that time limit but the DOT (Department of Transportation) from what I’ve heard feels that this project is at most seven or eight months of work.”
The Mayor added that the Village of Westbury is working with the Nassau County Police Department and the LIRR to ameliorate the impact of the bridgework.
