Newsday (Suffolk Edition) from Melville, New York • 37

4 I i 4 i LONG ISLANDNORTH SHORE Unsnarling a Dangerous Interchange II xv -oj Remedies eyed for Commack troublespot By Stuart Vincent The reconstruction plan for the Long Island Expressway-Sagtikos Parkway interchange calls for building a three-lane roadway on either side of the expressway to reduce the risk of accidents and alleviate traffic congestion state transportation officials say The plan which still needs final approval from the federal government involves a three-mile area between Commack Road and Washington Avenue in Commack Transportation officials Baid Monday that the reconstruction would eliminate a dangerqus interchange that has seven ramps that force motorists to maneuver around one another and onto the expressway resulting in about 200 accidents a year Under the plan which combines elements of several proposals presented at an October 1987 public hearing there would be only two points where drivers would still have to maneuver around one another heaviest movements noticed is people going west on the expressway in the morning and then going south on the Sagtikos and then the opposite at night north on the Sagtikos and east on the said Michael Cuddy regional engineer for the state Department of Transportation two movements will have direct connections under the reconstruction plan They be The ramp connecting the westbound LIE to the southbound Sagtikos would be replaced with a ramp from the proposed westbound three-lane roadway known as a collector-distributor system The northbound Sagtikos ramp would be connected directly to the expressway Transportation officials Baid the new three-lane roadways also would provide alternatives to motorists on the LIE and to local traffic on Vanderbilt Motor Parkway at times when the expressway is jammed with traffic The reconstruction also would make it possible for motorists driving north on the Sagtikos Parkway to exit on Wicks Road without first driving onto the expressway The plan calls for noise barriers to reduce noise levels for area residents Cuddy said the project if given final approval will be bid in two stages The eastbound collector-distributor system expected to cost $40 million will be bid late this year or early next year The second stage involving construction of the westbound system will cost about $34 million and be bid in late 1990 or early 1991 he said Each phase is expected to take about three years to complete Cuddy said with some overlap expected between the two projects Uncorking a Bottleneck Proposed changes on the UE in Commack 1 Entrances and exits from New southbound exit to Sagtikos expressway to feeder roads Mgi State Parkway '-S-irK'' y' 'S'- J' Kiit i New entrance to Wicks Road NewexrtatVandertxltMotor-VAK direct entrance onto vi' expressway that involve Existing entrance to be closed feeder road SOURCE: Suffolk County Dopartmant of Transportation i Nowaday Ltndm Fieuiy Smithtown Seeks Public-Water Funding last week by the town board includes five homes on Prospect Avenue which Murrell said would cost $66000 to hook up to public water eight homes on Cam-bon Place $54000 one home on Harvard Avenue $9000 five homes on Al-lenby Drive $32000 three homes on Nissequogue River Road $61000 32 homes on Landing Avenue and Oakside Drive $199000 30 homes on Valley Avenue $141000 14 homes on Landing Avenue south of Oakside Drive $144000 and 27 homes on Oakside Drive and Riverview Terrace $147000 signed to help homeowners hook up to Suffolk County Water Authority mains in areas where wells are contaminated but not so severely that they quality for federal Superfund money which is used to help clean up hazardous waste areas Eileen Trppea management analyst for the town Baid the committee indicated it could make recommendations to the county legislature on which projects to fond as early as May In 1986 the county legislature set aside $5 million for the program and Smithtown received about $250000 In 1987 the By Stuart Vincent The Town of Smith town has asked the county for more than $425000 to help finance public water projects for homeowners whose wells have been contaminated The wells may have been polluted by fertilizers local industry cesspools or the Smithtown and Huntington landfills said Norman Murrell vice president for engineering with H2M Group the application consultants The funds requested this week are available through a county program de legislature appropriated $2 million A consultant for Smithtown estimated it would cost about $853000 to connect the 125 homeowners who live in nine areas of the town to public water Their private wells have been found to contain nitrates or volatile organic chemicals If the plan is approved the county would pay half the cost Home-owners would pay the rest and would form a water district and tax themselves based on assessed property value They also would pay a one-time hookup fee application approved Harborfields Debates Day-Care Ouster rent to Harborfields until a referendum is held really upsets she said are willing to pay the district and I understand why they want to evict the voters in a referendum Because of these two circumstances the district has continued its fight Rainbow occupancy Reich said Katie Roche the owner of Rainbow Chimes said yesterday she had hoped the deal with the development center would put an end to the threat of eviction She Baid the day-care center was more than willing to continue paying NEWS DAY WEDNESDAY MARCH 30 1988 Error Delays Deepwells Ruling By Jenny Abdo The Harborfields School District is deciding whether to continue efforts to evict this Rainbow Chimes Day Care Cento1 from a former school despite a verbal agreement by the district to sell the building to the Suffolk Child Development Center which would let the day-care center stay Harborfields and Rainbow Chimes had been scheduled to appear this afternoon in District Court where Harborfields was expected to ask a judge to evict Rainbow Chimes But Lawrence Reich tiie school lawyer Baid yesterday that Harborfields had decided to postpone the hearing and negotiate with Rainbow Chimes The district has been seeking to evict Rainbow Chimes from the Little Plains School building since the day-care lease expired at the end of August But the Suffolk Child Development Cento which offered a high bid of $225 million for the Bchool two weeks ago has said it would let the day-care cento remain if it buys the property No contract has yet been signed And if one is signed it must be approved by Area residents have been fighting to preserve the 45-acre estate and its main house which was constructed between 1845 and 1847 for Joel LG Smith a descendant of Smithtown founder Richard Smith The county legislature has proposed purchasing Deepwells and using it as a history cento with the big house serving as headquarters for its Historic Services Division The legislature appropriated $22000 for an appraisal of the estate The proposal before the planning board concerns two parcels totaling 134 acres north of North Country Road including the big house and some smaller buildings Those parcels are owned by Deepwell Associates whose partners include Port Jefferson attorney James Catter-son The remainder of the estate lies south of North Country Road and is owned by another developer By Stuart Vincent A decision on subdividing the historic Deepwells estate in Head of the Harbor has been delayed because of an error in advertising the planning board meeting last Saturday The board met Saturday to consider whether to adopt a draft report as the final environmental statement on the controversial project Had the board accepted the statement the developers would have needed only subdivision approval from the board before dividing a portion of the estate into two-acre housing plots But because the board had not advertised the meeting properly it extended the public-comment period on the draft environmental-impact statement by two weeks CO.