Resurfacing of Middle Country Road in Calverton scheduled to take place in 2027: State DOT says

State highway crews have been filling potholes in the deteriorated pavement along Middle Country Road in Calverton, but resurfacing of the roadway is not scheduled until 2027, according to a NY. State Department of Transportation spokesperson.

The condition of the pothole-ridden roadway has prompted numerous complaints to Riverhead Town officials, including Town Supervisor Tim 

Hubbard and Highway Superintendent Mike Zaleski. Because Middle Country Road (NY-25) is a state road, there’s nothing town officials can do — other than field residents’ complaints and get in touch with the state agency to urge action.

Zaleski said today he’s been “all over them,” but State DOT officials “never gave us a date.”

He said he understands the state has been doing drainage work along Middle Country Road in Calverton and plans to renovate the intersection at Edwards Avenue, so resurfacing would logically take place after those other projects are completed.

“I’d rather hear it will be done in 2025 or 2026,” Zaleski said. “It’s nothing but a rumble strip,” he said. “It’s like a million pieces of bubble gum stuck on a board.”

Problem Calverton intersection to be renovated this spring and summer

Construction at the intersection of Middle Country Road and Edwards Avenue is scheduled to take place this spring and summer, the state DOT spokesperson said in an email last week.  

“The intersection will be widened to include new left turn lanes for each direction. A new enhanced traffic signal compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act will also be installed, “ the spokesperson said.

The intersection has regular traffic backups and congestion. A study by the DOT found that the intersection also had a significantly higher crash rate — about 165% higher — than the state-wide average for similar roadways. More than half of the crashes recorded in the study are rear ends and left turn crashes.

The renovation project widening the Calverton intersection and adding turn lanes on all approaches to improve overall traffic conditions, while also realigning the northbound and southbound approaches Edwards Avenue.

The project cost was estimated at about $5.1 million according to the project design report. 

National Grid plans Main Street restoration work after gas main installation

Repairs and restoration work to the roadway and sidewalks on Main Street in Riverhead — required as a result of National Grid’s recent installation of new gas mains in the downtown area— will be done by the utility company this spring, National Grid spokesperson Wendy Ladd said last week.

“We are finalizing the work in Riverhead,” Ladd wrote.  “We have a few tie-ins to complete which will be done in the next two weeks. We will be restoring the sidewalk and roadway where we dug a trench,” she said. 

“We expect the restoration work to be done in the first and second week of May. We plan to have all the restoration completed by Memorial Day,” Ladd wrote.

Alek Lewis contributed reporting for this story.