After Rainfall Sparks Erosion On Sunrise Highway, Leading To 1-Lane Of Traffic, Officials Urge Awareness

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — With worked wrapped up near the Shinnecock Canal bridge on Sunrise Highway after major recent storms sparked significant erosion, town officials are looking back at what the incident highlighted in terms of emergency response.

In October, heavy rainfall caused significant erosion concerns for Sunrise Highway in the area of the Shinnecock Canal, police said.

Southampton Town officials said that the Shinnecock Canal bridge on Sunrise Highway would remain under construction until further notice due to damage sustained during the storm; that work is now complete.

"During this period, the westbound lane will be restricted to a single lane of traffic," town officials said.

The reduced capacity of Sunrise Highway westbound was expected to remain a concern for the immediate future "but the state is working as quickly as possible to address the issue," police said at the time.

Looking back on the repairs, Ryan Murphy, public safety and emergency management administrator for Southampton Town, reflected: "Although the days of the lane restriction were very painful to those who had to experience it, I am supremely happy that the work was able to be done as rapidly as it was. When it first happened I was worried that this might be a month-long project."

He added that Southampton Town police and the Southampton Town highway department, with the support of the Southampton Town board, also mobilized rapidly and "did great work to try to help ease the pain by implementing roadway measures to try and move the traffic along."

The recent erosion highlighted issues of critical importance to residents, Murphy said.

"From an emergency management point of view, this incident serves as a reminder of the situation we face on the East End from an emergency evacuation perspective. I am hopeful that people look at this experience and allow it to serve as an example of the critical need to be very mindful of voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders during significant regional disasters and storm events. Our limited network of roadways to evacuate the town could be easily overwhelmed and disrupted .Allowing proper time and heeding warnings is of the utmost importance."

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore also declared a state of emergency at the time due to the damage from the storm.