Village has had enough of traffic-obstructing state project

Forget the white pants or the crisp sky blue shirts. Traffic cone orange is the color of summer 2024 in East Hampton Village.

“It’s a disaster. We want to make sure residents understand that it’s not the village doing the work, it’s the Department of Transportation,” said Marcos Baladron, East Hampton Village Administrator, of the numerous construction sites affecting traffic on Route 27, a state highway that is also the village’s main street and artery. “It’s annoying. It’s disruptive.” The work is being done by the New York State Department of Transportation.

The 1.5-mile trip from another state highway, Route 114, through the village on Route 27 to East Hampton Town Hall took 10 minutes at noon Tuesday and involved several bottlenecks and stops. A line of seven cars attempted to turn left onto Route 27 at the Buell Lane/Route 114 intersection, while two pedestrians had to weave their way through cars that had been standing in the pedestrian walkway across Buell Lane. On the other side of the intersection, three cars attempted to turn right onto Dunemere Lane, no doubt to avoid traffic on Main Street, but the last car blocked eastbound traffic on Route 27, so the line of cars stretched all the way to the Town Pond.

Traffic cones were entirely democratic, affecting government buildings (Village Hall), religious buildings (Presbyterian Church), commercial buildings (several stores), historic institutions (Osborn-Jackson House), and media buildings (East Hampton Star Building) alike. Work to dig out and replace old sewers and install new curbs was started nearly a year ago by the New York State Department of Transportation.

“The safety and convenience of travelers is always the highest priority for the New York State Department of Transportation. Currently, the department is conducting maintenance on storm drains along State Route 27 in the Town of East Hampton to ensure the road is prepared for severe weather,” said Stephen Canzoneri, a spokesman.

“These guys just come by, don’t tell us anything, and disrupt life on a July weekend,” Mr. Baladron said. “We don’t hear anything. We don’t hear anything. The mayor is very upset. He’s been out on the street, picking up traffic cones and putting them away, telling the workers that they don’t run this town. It’s a state road, but we have rights.”

“It’s just the wrong time of year for this kind of work, which disrupts traffic flow and, more importantly, takes up parking spaces. This is the best time for business owners. The other day they wouldn’t even let the jitney pull into the stop,” said Mayor Jerry Larsen.

Over the weekend, Mr Baladron said, workers blocked off all the parking spaces in front of the village hall and then took a lane to park their own vehicles. “It’s a joke. It’s disrespectful. Their private vehicles were on the sidewalk. It’s a bit insulting.” Yesterday morning they were back. “They’ve got an excavator out there blocking a lane. We told that guy yesterday not to park on our lawn and there he is again, right on Huntting Lane. He’s about to get a ticket,” Mayor Larsen said.

“To minimize traffic delays, NYSDOT will keep both lanes open with lane changes throughout the duration of the work, which is expected to be completed in late summer. Questions regarding utility work on State Route 27 between Newtown Lane and Egypt Lane should be directed to National Grid,” said Mr. Canzoneri.

That’s right. Cross the intersection of Main Street and Newtown Lane and you’re greeted by a Frankenstein scar in the road that is a horror for unsuspecting motorists. On Tuesday, National Grid employees were seen strolling past Prada wearing hard hats. One stood in the middle of a traffic island. “The time they spend making the village look like a garbage heap is not appreciated by anyone here at Village Hall,” Mr Baladron said.

If you think the end of summer means a return to normalcy, take a deep breath, because PSEG is about to begin a major modernization of its distribution system “due to continued growth in electricity demand on the South Fork,” said Jeremy Walsh, a company spokesman.

“This project will convert two older 4 kV distribution circuits, which are at their maximum load capacity during the summer months, to higher voltage 13 kV circuits to improve reliability and service. Most of the work will be performed underground and is scheduled for the post-Labor Day off-season to minimize economic disruption. It is expected to begin in late September and continue until approximately the end of May 2025. The Project Manager will coordinate with the East Hampton Village Building Department and apply for permits as part of the planning phase. Before construction begins, East Hampton Village management will be briefed on the details of the project.”

And as if all that work wasn’t enough, there’s of course the usual unbearable summer traffic, which was made worse last week by the complete closure of roads in Southampton, Bridgehampton and Water Mill to allow former President Donald Trump to drive into Westhampton’s Gabreski Airport for a fundraiser that also caused a stir in East Hampton.

“Because of the street closure for the Trump fundraiser, people completely missed our gala,” said Andrea Grover, executive director of Guild Hall.