NY Avenue Sewer Project to be a "Traffic Nightmare"

By Chris O'Neill

The upcoming Huntington Station sewer construction project promises to be a three-year "traffic nightmare" for residents of Huntington Station and people trying to travel between downtown Huntington and the north shore and Long Island's highways.

Town of Huntington officials conducted a briefing last week on plans for the $66 million sewer construction project in Huntington Station.

According to the officials, the construction will provide the waste disposal infrastructure for a series of large construction developments that might be proposed through the Town's "Huntington Station Downtown Initiative."

The project costs $66 million according to current budget projections, with the Town of Huntington, Suffolk County, and New York State each contributing about a third or $22 million each.

The owners of 224 properties along the sewer route will face costs to hook-up to the new sewer service. The cost to hook-up to the sewer system and shut down the existing cesspools is estimated to cost between $10,000 to $50,000 per property owner.

In addition, property owners who do hook-up to the sewer district will pay an estimated $420 annually for the connection.

Sewage will be sent south, to connect to sewage pumping stations on Third Avenue and near the Walt Whitman Mall. It will then connect to the Southwest Sewer District in Babylon.

The three year construction project is expected to cause a "traffic nightmare" as one resident stated, and to impact the parking availability in Huntington Station.

Suffolk County has scheduled a public hearing on the sewer construction for December. Work is expected to begin next year, and be completed by December, 2027.