In an effort to have the State Department of Transportation prioritize the repair of Route 114 between East Hampton and North Haven, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said last week that he would designate money for it in the upcoming state budget.
“I’ve been bugging them for about three years,” Mr. Thiele said of his effort to get the state to repair the road. In a recent letter to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and D.O.T. officials, Mr. Thiele, State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming, and East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc asked for a “major repaving” of Route 114 from where it intersects with Stephen Hand’s Path in East Hampton to the South Ferry terminal on North Haven.
“The condition of this section of roadway has continued to deteriorate . . . and will certainly be further adversely impacted by the coming winter season,” they said.
In 2018, the D.O.T. patched six of the worst sections of the road, and in December five more were repaired. But those stopgap measures are insufficient, said Mr. Thiele. “It’s the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on a gunshot wound,” he said.
Mr. Cuomo has focused on high-profile infrastructure projects, such as the construction of the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge (formerly the Tappan Zee Bridge) between Westchester and Rockland Counties, and the renovation of La Guardia Airport and Penn Station in New York City, Mr. Thiele said, but smaller road repairs have not been prioritized.
“It may not be as sexy, but it needs to be done,” Mr. Thiele said, adding that his colleagues from other state districts have also expressed a need for road repairs. “I’ve learned that our situation isn’t unique. There are examples across the state, particularly upstate.”
“The current D.O.T. five-year capital plan authorized nearly $1.5 billion in state and federal funding for the Long Island region toward the renewal and modernization of roads and bridges,” said Stephen Canzoneri, a spokesman for the department. In 2020, he said, nearly $200 million will be spent on road resurfacing and other improvements.
How that money gets spent is at the D.O.T.’s discretion, however, said Mr. Thiele. By earmarking repairs for Route 114 in the state budget, he said, he can make sure its repaving becomes a priority.
