Fixing streets and sewers in Oceanside and Island Park

The floodwaters have receded, the snow is gone (for now, anyway), and repair crews are out, working on streets and sewers around southern Nassau County.

Hempstead Town Supervisor Anthony Santino has a new weapon in his arsenal against potholes. It’s called SWAT (which stands for special weapons and tactics), and it uses a two-pronged approach: “hot boxes,” which bring patching material to a pothole site, and the town’s new paving equipment, which gives a SWAT team the ability to cut and patch a larger section of damaged roadway.

“The forces of nature have declared war on local roadways,” Santino said. “Hempstead Town’s SWAT team is responding to nature’s assault with new weapons and a solid strategy to make our roads smooth and safe for neighbors again.”

According to a press release, the town has increased the number of trucks dedicated to road repair from 18 to 30 over the past few years, and there are now 24 hot boxes. The town has received 288 reports of potholes so far this year, and has used 80 tons of asphalt to make repairs.

Hempstead has also implemented a new pothole strategy, adding Parks Department and Sanitation Department workers to the highway crews that have traditionally been tasked with road repair.

As well, the way in which potholes are located and reported has changed. Previously, the town relied on calls from residents, but this season crew foremen have been looking for potholes and reporting them.

Newly appointed Town Councilman Anthony D’Esposito accompanied Santino as he filled a pothole with hot asphalt at a roadside press event in Merrick. “Additional road repair equipment and newer response strategies are making town roads pothole-free more quickly, ” D’Esposito said.

Santino and D’Esposito asked residents to report potholes on town roads so that crews can respond. The town’s Highway Department can be reached Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 4:45 p.m., at (516) 812-3471.