Residents Fed Up With Long-Term State Highway Project On Long Island
MELVILLE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A state highway construction project designed to improve travel in parts of Long Island has driven some residents to the brink.
Some Melville residents said the 18-month-long project on Route 110 has gone on for long enough.
"Some sort of vibrating, rolling, earth-pounding machine which is literally like shaking the earth," said Kevin Roberts, who lives next to the construction site. "Cabinets rattling just like a jet had just roared overhead."
When completed, the $56 million project will rebuild the Northern State Parkway overpass and widen one the busiest interchanges on Long Island.
One woman said all the shaking and rattling from the ongoing construction project has cracked the foundation of her home.
"We don't know what quiet is anymore and this is day and night, 24/7. The only time we get a break is on the weekend or a holiday," Gwynne Road resident Elizabeth Cella told CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan on Thursday.
"It is unbearable to live here...you wake up to it and you're unnerved right away," Gregory Cella added.
Another woman who lives along Gwynne Road said the concrete dust kicked up during construction has made it hard to breathe and she is concerned the dust may pose a health risk to her children.
"I don't even want them to go outside and breathe this in," Cindy Marra told McLogan.
The State Department Of Transportation has set up seismic vibration machines to monitor noise and shaking from the construction site.
The DOT has said the worst of the project may be over for nearby residents, and urged patience as the roadway improvements are made.
About 200,000 drivers pass over and under the Northern State Parkway Bridge in Melville every day, according to the state. DOT officials said once the construction is complete, the re-design will improve safety for everyone.
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