Sunrise Highway getting a face-lift

A five-mile stretch of Sunrise Highway that runs through Freeport, Merrick, Bellmore and Wantagh will be resurfaced by the New York State Department of Transportation, officials said.

The local work, which began this week, is part of the state’s Sunrise Highway Pavement Improvement Project. DOT Commissioner Joan McDonald said that roughly $16 million has been allocated for construction on New York Route 27 along two stretches of the highway, which state officials said has seen serious wear and tear from traffic and the heavy snowfalls of the 2013-14 winter.

Work on the $6.7 million western project began at Harrison Avenue in Freeport on May 5 and will continue to Broadway in Lynbrook. The $9.2 million eastern project, which includes Bellmore-Merrick, began on May 19; crews started working on Sunrise at Harrison in Freeport and will make their way to the Wantagh Parkway.

“This project means a major improvement for the pavement along Sunrise Highway, resulting in a smooth ride for motorists who have had to deal with rough road conditions caused by the unusually harsh winter,” McDonald said in a statement. “Under the leadership of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, we are putting drivers first, ensuring roadwork disruptions are kept to a minimum, and providing a safer, smoother ride for the more than 50,000 drivers who use this section of Sunrise Highway each day.”

DOT spokeswoman Eileen Peters said construction would include removing the worn top layer of pavement on all eastbound and westbound travel lanes, making base repairs, cleaning catch basins, removing unused manhole covers and installing a new asphalt overlay. Traffic signal vehicle detectors will be replaced, and new pavement markings will be laid, she said.

Peters noted that this project was planned several years ago, as state officials said the 8.6 miles of road targeted in the eastern and western projects were identified as needing improvement based on the DOT’s normal pavement evaluation process. She, however, said the constant snowfalls throughout this past winter made the Sunrise Highway Pavement Improvement Project all the more urgent.