Residents of the Ferry Point community are happy to see that a contractor working for the MTA has partially paved the “ring road” that loops under the Whitestone Bridge. This is because the road provides increased access from their community to streets and highways beyond it.
The ring road links the two service roads on each side of the Hutchinson River Parkway. The road, which has never had an official name, was partially paved and potholes were filled under the Whitestone Bridge in Ferry Point Park.
According to sources, a contractor working on the bridge restoration for the MTA milled and partially paved the road. This is because it is being used as a staging area for the ongoing construction that is replacing the road surface of the Whitestone Bridge. However, with construction on the bridge and the use of the park as a staging area for upcoming construction on the Ferry Point Park Golf Course, it does not appear that a major rehabilitation on the ring road will occur in the near future.
“There used to be tremendous amounts of dirt and potholes on the road underneath the bridge,” said Ferry Point Civic Association president JoAnn Sohmers. “The road has been partially paved and we are grateful for this. The section under the bridge is still far from smooth, but at least it is driveable.”
Sohmers said that she was glad that the road was paved because it provides another access route for people looking to leave the community and get access to the highway. Traffic often backs up at the two other routes leading out of the Ferry Point community during rush hour, she said.
“We need an alternate way of leaving our community besides Brush Avenue and Lafayette Avenue,” Sohmers said. “The fastest way to get to the northbound Hutchinson River Parkway is the ring road, because you can get on the highway as soon as you loop under the bridge”
Sohmers said that many of her members are complaining about long commuting times at rush hour. This is especially true around the intersection of Brush Avenue and Bruckner Boulevard, she said.
Dotti Poggi of the Ferry Point Park Community Advocates said that she was glad that there has been a positive step in the right direction with the partial paving of the ring road. Poggi has a wait-and-see approach to seeing the full rehabilitation of the ring road become a reality. “Obviously, something good is getting done. If that is happening, why push it?”
