New York State Department of Transportation Regional Director Craig Siracusa announced on June 3 that the repaving of Jericho Turnpike Route 25, in Woodbury, between South Woods Road and Woodbury Road, will take place only during evening hours to alleviate further traffic problems and to ease the financial burden of local merchants affected by the road congestion.

Since June 1998, construction workers have been overhauling this Woodbury section of Jericho Turnpike, widening the north side, adding a left-turn-only lane, rewiring traffic lights and installing curbs and sidewalks.

While this work will continue during the day, the repaving will take place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. This is crucial because workers will have to shut down one whole side of Route 25 at a time to pave it properly. If this were done during daytime hours, it would be impossible for drivers to access many of the stores using this major roadway.

According to a DOT release, "Performing the paving operations during off-peak, nighttime hours should help reduce the impact of the road construction on many local businesses by reducing the required amount of daytime work and also help expedite the completion of the project."

During the evening paving hours, only one lane of traffic will remain open on Jericho Turnpike. Drivers heading in the direction that is blocked off will be detoured using Piquets Lane and Woodbury Road. The total length of the detour is about one mile.

Nighttime access to all businesses and residencies along Route 25 will be maintained through the use of flag persons who will direct traffic around the construction areas.

"I'm very, very pleased that efforts on behalf of the merchants and residents resulted in the realization that nightwork [is necessary]," said Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs, who lives in Woodbury and has been fielding many complaints from local shopkeepers. Jacobs said the DOT should always perform nightwork on "major arteries like Jericho Turnpike when the livelihoods of people are affected."

Jacobs, who has repeatedly met with angry Woodbury merchants, wrote a letter to Siracusa dated May 11 which expressed her frustration over the issue. She wrote, "These merchants are small business owners and this road construction is causing a disastrous interruption in their ability to survive months of disruption."

Jacobs also said in a press release, "I am encouraging the NYSDOT to use the same standards in their construction plans that they use in major parkway or expressway work, such as incentive programs to expedite the work and nightwork whenever possible."