Glen Cove begins 2019 roadwork project

For two years, Elizabeth Avenue has been one of the most deteriorated roads in the City of Glen Cove. This short but steep road is covered in cracks and broken asphalt, with patches of grass growing out of the splits. In 2017, the senior residents who lived at 10 Elizabeth Ave. reached out to the Department of Public Works to ask that something be done to fix up the road, and while the city completed a thorough analysis of all its roads that year, it was unable to bring the proper fixes to Elizabeth Avenue.

But Elizabeth Avenue is now at the top of the city’s 2019 Roads and Drainage Improvements project after the city finalized its contract with Road Work Ahead Inc. on Aug. 23. In the $1.3 million contract, Road Work Ahead, Inc., a Westbury-based company that specializes in heavy and highway road construction, agreed to complete comprehensive road and drainage improvements on 14 streets in Glen Cove, including the road and parking lot work for the new Tiegerman Middle School, formerly the Coles School, at 100 Glen Cove Ave.

“We’re starting with the Tiegerman School and expecting to finish up by the end of the year,” DPW Director Lou Saulino said.

According to engineers at the LiRo Group, a Long Island-based company that provides construction management, engineering, environmental, architectural and program management solutions, another survey of the roads was completed in 2018. LiRo then gave each road a rating between one and 10 based on all the defects present at the roads, including potholes, large cracks and curb defects. Saulino said that the ones with the lowest scores were given top priority for the 2019 improvement project.

Saulino first presented the project for approval during an emergency City Pre-Council meeting on Aug. 13 to receive early approval for the contract. Saulino explained that it was important that the work get done as early as possible because road paving can be difficult in cold weather and most asphalt plants close in the winter. The contract with Road Work Ahead, Inc., was unanimously approved by the City Council.

“Each street has different needs that are outlined in the project, and whatever needs to be done is going to be done,” City Councilman Kevin Maccarone said.

Saulino also pushed for additional work to be done at Pulaski Street by the downtown parking garage and at Glen Street, where a water main break occurred in July that caused flooding in the downtown. Saulino said he was worried the current repairs at Glen Street might not hold up over the winter, so he hoped the city would allocate additional funds to the project in the fall.

The City Council also mulled the inclusion of Glen Cove Road near the city’s firehouse and St. Andrews Lane by the Glen Cove Hospital.

At press time on Aug. 28, the DPW had began roadwork at the Tiegerman School.