Shore Road Upgrade Could Start Next Summer

Catch basins, geogrids and perforated pipes are coming to the Manor as part of a major reconstruction of Shore Road, which community leaders say has been deteriorating for as long as two decades.

The capital project will focus on roadway collapses in the vicinities of Bay View Road and Manor Road, said Patrick A. Wickman, a senior principal scientist at engineering company Hazen and Sawyer, during a meeting held last night by the Douglas Manor Association.

The goal is to control storm water runoff that causes soil movement and roadway erosion.

The Bay View collapse, which includes a broken timber wall, resulted from years of uncontrolled storm water runoff and low-quality soil, said Wickman, explaining that the earth has moved about three feet, cracking asphalt and dislocating curbs.

The undertaking will include placement of higher-quality soil, sheet piling, geogrids with reinforced backfills and perforated pipes that lead water to outfalls along the shoreline. Geogrids are synthetic material with bands woven in grid-like patterns that add strength to a retaining wall.

The Manor collapse is less severe, but will also require catch basins, piping and outfalls, Wickman said. The entire proposal calls for 30 single catch basins, eight double catch basins, five outfalls and 3,045 linear feet of piping over a 57-acre drainage area. It will conclude with milling and repaving from West Drive to 36th Avenue.

“We think it’s a reasonable solution,” Wickman said. “We don’t want water sitting there.”

An environmental review is underway for the project, which needs to be approved by the the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.

That agency is currently studying how the plan would affect runoff into Little Neck Bay as well as erosion. The DEC is also looking to see if there are any historical remains underground that could be ruined by the activity.

Wickman said that a bidding process would end with the selection of a construction company in spring 2012. The project would then begin in the summer or fall and take six to eight months to complete.

Certain sections of the road will be off limits for short periods of time, but construction crews will mostly work on half of the roadway at a time to allow access to the public.

The upgrade was originally scheduled for October 2011. A number of attendees at the meeting complained that the delay created dangerous conditions on Shore Road. Some said that the erosion was first detected as far back as 1992.

Maura McCarthy, the Queens commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation, said she has allocated $5.9 million to the project and that the city is serious about completing it. She assured those present that all catch basins would be placed below grade and not be visible from street level.

However, she emphasized that the upgrade is not a beautification project, so no trees or shrubbery will be planted in the target areas.

“We’re just fixing the road,” McCarthy said.