Bellport, NY – Brookhaven Highway Superintendent Daniel P. Losquadro has announced the Town’s receipt of a $910,000 grant from New York State’s Climate Smart Communities Grant program. The funding will be used to raise a portion of Bellhaven Road in Bellport and install a permeable road surface to improve drainage.
The project, expected to cost $1.8 million, will raise the south end of Bellhaven Road by eight to ten inches and install a road surface composed of interlocking concrete blocks that will form a grid through which stormwater can drain. Flooding is currently an issue in the Bellhaven Road neighborhood due, in part, to ground saturation which causes storm drains to work in reverse, pushing water into streets instead of away from them.
Once this project is complete, storm water will be diverted to bioretention areas consisting of native grasses that will act as a natural filtration system, removing nitrogen and other contaminants from the water.
“The issues on Bellhaven Road are not unique,” said Superintendent Losquadro. “We’re experiencing sea level rise across the South Shore. While this certainly is not the only low-lying area across Brookhaven Town in need of mitigation, I am grateful the State has chosen this neighborhood for the grant so that we will be able to complete this project to improve resiliency and protect water quality in the area.”
Daniel P. Losquadro * Highway Superintendent
1140 Old Town Road • Coram • NY 11727 • Phone (631) 451-9200 • Fax (631) 732-2584