Ponquogue Bridge Set To Reopen Next Week In Hampton Bays: County Exec

HAMPTON BAYS, NY — One week after a sudden closure, there's good news for those who utilize the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays.

On Friday, Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine announced that precautionary measures are being implemented, which will allow the Ponquogue Bridge to be opened to limited traffic the week of March 3.

"The Ponquogue Bridge is critically important to emergency services, businesses, and local traffic; we needed to find a way to open the bridge as quickly as possible," said Romaine. "Our county Department of Public Works has been working with the New York State Department of Transportation and a plan to immediately open the bridge has been designed."

The new traffic pattern, he said, includes shifting the travel lanes eastward, which will be accomplished with lightweight barriers, traffic control barrels, and lane markings. The temporary measures will be completed in the week of March 3.

"The SCDPW is proceeding to engage an engineer on an emergency basis to design a permanent repair to return this bridge to its 40-ton capacity," said Romaine. "In the interim, NYSDOT will continue regular inspections to monitor any areas of concern."

Under the guidelines set forth by the DOT, vehicles up to five tons, bicycles, and pedestrians will be able to use the bridge. Special permits will be issued to ambulances that weigh up to 14,500 lbs.

"Public safety is paramount, and we need to ensure our first responders can serve their communities," said Romaine.

Vehicles up to 20 tons can continue to use the Post Lane Bridge in Quogue and up to 40 tons can use the Beach Lane Bridge in Westhampton Beach.

A few days after the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays was closed until further notice Friday, no definitive answers were initially given this week about what the future held for the structure.

Ryan Murphy, Southampton Town public safety and emergency management administrator, told Patch Wednesday that Suffolk County officials had indicated that they were expecting further analysis sometime Thursday, regarding the results from the re-inspection that took place on Monday, February 24.

"That information will then need to be evaluated to see what options exist for the path forward," Murphy said. "We remain hopeful that they will be able to at least open in a limited capacity to accommodate some of the normal use."

Other than initial information that town officials received, "indicating that there was some spalling of concrete found," Murphy said Wednesday that so far, town officials had not learned of any additional, detailed information about the issues identified.

Spalling means that concrete has broken down and chipped away, sometimes leading it to be "compromised", according to Dalinghaus Contruction.

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said the town received word Friday from Suffolk County that the Suffolk County Department of Public Works had closed the bridge until further notice.

On Friday, Murphy sent out a release that said the bridge was closed to all vehicular and pedestrian traffic in both directions.

"The town was informed that, while the NYSDOT was conducting a routine inspection of the bridge on February 20, conditions were identified that have since resulted in the closing of the bridge. County and state engineers continue to analyze the data in an effort to determine what additional action may be necessary," the release said.

"Until such time as the Ponquogue Bridge reopens, residents and visitors are asked to pursue alternate means of accessing Dune Road. Residents and visitors are also urged to be mindful of the potential traffic impacts to other bridges and roadways that might provide access."

The notice continued: "As the town becomes aware of additional information, or a projected timeline for the reopening of the bridge, we will share that information."

"Due to an abundance of caution, the Ponquogue Bridge in Southampton has been closed. Motorists are advised to utilize alternative routes until further notice," a Suffolk County spokesperson told Patch last week.

Residents and visitors are encouraged to enroll in alerts from Southampton Town via the Notify Me messaging system here.