After seven years of planning and construction, the Village of Mineola’s Bruce Terrace flood relief project is within weeks of completion.
The only part of the project that remains to be finished is a drainage basin at Westbury and Sheridan Avenues, according to Thomas Rini, superintendent of the village Department of Public Works.
At last Wednesday night’s Mineola Village Board meeting, Rini said work by the village’s contractor, Roadwork Ahead, will be completed in the next two weeks.
“The drainage piping is all installed, is corrected and working,” Rini said.
The county must also repave Sheridan Avenue as part of its work on a project in which the county, the village and the Town of North Hempstead and Mineola teamed up to alleviate recurrent flooding problems during heavy rains on the border of Mineola and Carle Place.
Asked how he felt about the prospect of seeing the project finished, Rini said, “Relieved. I’m glad it’s over. It’s been seven years of my life working on it.”
The Town of North Hempstead had originally secured a $2.4 million state grant through state Sen. Craig Johnson for the project.
But the funding was left in limbo by state Senate Democrats after Village of Mineola Mayor Jack Martins beat Johnson in the 2010 election.
Martins ultimately restored the grant by dividing the $2.4 million in $800,000 segments to the village, town and county.
The total cost of the project is expected to exceed $4.5 million with each of the municipalities contributing additional money.
The village’s $1.7 million portion of the work included installation of two new drainage manholes, four new catch basins and removal of approximately 300 feet of existing 18-inch-drainage pipe now replaced with a new 30-inch drainage pipe on Bruce Terrace.
The town’s $1.1 million part of the project included installing a drainage basin north of the Old Motor Parkway property, new catch basins and drainage pipes on three or four streets adjacent to the Mineola-Carle Place border.
The county’s $1.7 million portion of the project includes installation of 1,715 feet of 36-inch or 48-inch interceptor pipe on Sheridan Boulevard from Raff Avenue, crossing Westbury Avenue and entering the Mineola catch basin.
After Wednesday night’s meeting, Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss said “it feels great” that the project is nearly done.
He said a Bruce Terrace resident recently told him, “We’re praying for a rainstorm to see if it’s working.”
“The people can sleep at night now,” Strauss said, recalling residents in the neighborhood telling him their children had trouble sleeping at night whenever it rained.
Strauss said residents in the area have dealt with flooding after heavy storm for 40 years.
