A $30 million reconstruction of West Shore Road, which runs along the coastline of Oyster Bay Harbor in Mill Neck, is expected to begin within the next 12 months, county executive Edward Mangano announced today in a press release.
“This project has been argued and debated since the 1970’s, and now it is a closer reality," Mangano said in a statement. He called the project "massive" and critical to the long-term health of the harbor, and said it will take "every aspect of improvement into consideration."
Those aspects include installing an underground pretreatment system to protect the waterway from polluted storm runoff, replacing the entire roadbed and sea wall adjacent to the road, and burying power and cable lines underneath the roadway to eliminate downed wires and utility poles during storms.
Mangano's office said a draft permit has been obtained from the Army Corps of Engineers, with a final permit expected within two weeks. The project will then undergo a bidding process and the winning contract will need to be approved by the County Legislature and the Nassau Interim Finance Authority.
The project's first of three phases would be a 2,000-square-foot stretch "from Cleft Road toward the Bayville Bridge in Bayville," the release stated. Mangano's office projected that the construction will last 18 months.
The project, first conceived in 1978, has long been recommended by environmentalists concerned about pollutants entering the harbor, according to the release. It stated that the road has been "pummeled by storms and heavy traffic" through the years, but had been put off due to funding concerns.
“The West Shore Road [project] symbolizes a new era of progress in Nassau," Mangano said. "My administration is committed to ensuring the county’s well-being for generations to come.”
