If you are wondering why traffic has been slightly rerouted and road work pretty obvious along Middle Neck Road from the entrance to the Village of Kensington, north to the Village of Great Neck, the answer is much-anticipated work on drainage problems. Flooding along this busy strip of road has long been a serious problem, with water flooding apartment buildings and shops, even such dangerous flooding that at times cars had to be abandoned.
After numerous requests from local officials, Nassau County finally agreed to do the work (Middle Neck Road is a county road) and work began this past November. According to Great Neck’s Nassau County Legislator Ellen Birnbaum, information she received indicated that this past winter’s severe weather conditions held up various parts of the project.
At this point in time, Village of Great Neck Mayor Ralph Kreitzman told the Great Neck Record that he was just informed that crews from PSEG (the local electric utility) will relocate their conduit along southbound Middle Neck Road (in the vicinity of Wooleys Lane). This work is to allow the installation of new drainage facilities. The work had been held up in order to allow PSEG and its subcontractor to do emergency repair work on a collapsed electrical conduit on Middle Neck Road at Kensington Gate and that repair had priority.
According to a notification that Kreitzman received, PSEG officials have stated that there will be no interruption of electrical service during the relocation of this conduit and the work should take about one week to complete.
The mayor also was told that once the electrical conduits are relocated out of the way of the county’s proposed drainage improvements, the county’s contractor will be able to schedule his work.
This project includes work at different locations, from May to November, including additional catch basins and pipes to drain water into newly-constructed underground pipes. Kreitzman, who had been briefed by the county before the project started, was informed that there would be closure of one lane in each direction on Middle Neck Road and temporary closure of adjoining streets at various times during the course of the work.
As a county legislator responsible for this area, Birnbaum promises to keep the public informed as she meets with project managers, “staying on top of things.” She told the Record that she will be particularly watchful of work along the way that could impact on the Jewish High Holy days in the early Fall and will be careful to make certain that this Great Neck project “does not get lost in the midst of other Nassau County projects.”
The entire Kensington to Old Village drainage problem is expected to be completed by this coming November, according to Birnbaum. And even considering the weather-induced delays last winter, Birnbaum was promised that the project is still “on schedule.”
