UPDATE, July 15, 4:10 p.m.: Brendan Warner, the director of construction and maintenance for the Suffolk County Water Authority, said by phone on Monday that he expects the road restoration work to be completed on Wednesday. No construction is planned for Tuesday, but he said motorists should prepare to face similar paving work on Wednesday most likely between 7 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
He said the project is the culmination of the installation of 2,500 feet of new water main in that area of Cedar Street. He also said this final round of work is intended to permanently replace the temporary paving job that followed the initial installation earlier this year.
"As a general practice, we try to avoid doing any major capital work in the summer season with the knowledge that it is a tourist area, so generally we're avoiding that," Mr. Warner said. "It was a significant job, so it took time, and this is kind of the very end of it. If we have the ability we'll sometimes let the temporary restoration remain, but sometimes, with the amount of traffic on the roadway, it's better to get it addressed. That was ultimately what drove this decision."
ORIGINALLY, July 15, 1:15 p.m.: Traffic was tied up in knots Monday morning on North Main Street in the vicinity of Cedar Street, prompting detours and delays as motorists made their way into downtown East Hampton from Springs.
The work is being done by the Suffolk County Water Authority, according to Steve Lynch, town highway superintendent, and David Collins, East Hampton Village's public works superintendent.
Mr. Lynch said the town had been informed ahead of time of the work. "They've been having some issues there that they wanted to cover up before it causes more problems — the way the trench is, they were getting a lot of complaints," he explained Monday morning. "They should be done today, if not, tomorrow morning."
Mr. Collins, however, said the village had been unaware of the planned work until this morning. He said village officials were concerned about first responders' access to the Emergency Services Building at that intersection.
"Traffic is like a cloudy Friday afternoon right before a holiday weekend," Mr. Collins said. "It's busy, but I don't think it's any worse than it was Friday before the Fourth of July. It's just inconvenient, Cedar Street being one of the main thoroughfares here."
The water authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
