Malverne residents prepare, it's time for road repair

The Village of Malverne has entered phase two of its roadway improvement project, which means residents will have to put up with saw-cutting, draining, milling, grinding and, possibly worst of all, no parking for the next few months.

Despite the noise and inconveniences resulting from the roadwork, it will be well worth it when all is said and done, according to Paul Jessup, head of Malverne's Public Works Department.

Jessup said the 2010 Roadway Improvement Project, which comes two years after the first phase, will focus on about three miles of road in the Pine Brook and Foster Brook areas, 11 streets in the former and eight in the latter. Eventually, the project will repair and repave all 26 miles of Malverne's roads in eight phases throughout a possible 10-year period, according to Jessup.

Malverne Mayor Patty McDonald and Trustee Joe Hennessy were both pleased to report during the Sept. 1 board meeting that the village saved money by selecting Carlo Lizza & Sons Paving Inc. to do the roadway project. The company, according to Hennessy, was the lowest bidder, submitting a $1,696,507 bid. The entire project, Hennessy reported during the meeting, will cost about $2.5 million.

"We were very pleased with the way it turned out," McDonald recently said of the bidding process. "And we're excited for it to begin."

According to Jessup, who said only Mother Nature can truly determine the length of the project, “the village board has really done its homework on this one.”

Undoubtedly, some residents are less excited about the project, which commenced on Monday in the Pine Brook area. Malverne Building Department head Bob Solarino broadcast an announcement on MalverneTV for area residents, giving them a heads-up before the initial surveying, saw-cutting, draining and concrete work began.

Village trustees said they are doing everything they can to ensure that residents are properly notified before road work begins. In addition to using the telephone notification system, the village has asked the contractor to issue letters of notification to residents 24 hours before work begins on their streets.

To sign up for Malverne's telephone notification system, call Village Hall at (516) 599-1200. For questions about the Roadway Improvement Project, call project manager John Keeling at (516) 938-2566.

Comments about this story? LLandor@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.