Southampton Town has declared a state of emergency in light of the erosion that led to the closure of both westbound lanes of Sunrise Highway in the vicinity of the Shinnecock Canal late Friday morning. Westbound traffic over the bridge is restricted to the left roadside shoulder only, causing extremely long delays for travelers.
"They wanted to reduce the load on the road until it's fixed . . . so they've converted the left shoulder into a lane for the time being," said Ryan Murphy, the head of Southampton's emergency management division. "The good news is as of a bit later in the day [Friday], the New York State Department of Transportation indicated to us that they are hopeful that the project to repair the drainage structure and reinforce the abutment can be accomplished in about a week."
Supervisor Maria Moore directed in her emergency order that town departments including Police, Highway, and Public Safety will provide "all necessary and available assistance" in "furtherance of the health, safety, and well-being of everyone residing and working in our community." The order went into effect at 11:30 a.m. Friday and is set to expire in 30 days if not rescinded sooner.
Town officials have said that rain runoff from Thursday's storm dropped two to three inches in some areas of Southampton.
"Although it's going to be a painful week of traffic for people, the fact that it will hopefully only be a week is much better than the original picture," Mr. Murphy said.
This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.
