Smithtown Officials Plan to Rebuild Two Roads

Smithtown officials are seeking bids from contractors in preparations to reconstruct two roadways when the weather warms up.

Smithtown Town board voted unanimously to open bids for a full depth reclamation of various town roads. The two roads that will be fully reclaimed, or reconstructed from the base level up, are Hawkins Road in Smithtown and Margaret Avenue in Nesconset.

"It's taking a road that is in bad shape, beating it up and recycling it back into roadway," said Glenn Jorgensen, Smithtown's Highway Superintendent. 

Jorgensen said Hawkins Road and Margaret Drive have been neglected over the years, progressively growing worse. These two roads are in such bad condition that a new layer of asphalt won't cut it. 

The process, called a full-depth reclamation, will use special machinery to take up the roadway that exists, break it up and reuse the asphalt by mixing it with emulsion to form a new base for the road, according to Jorgensen. Then a fresh asphalt will be laid down. 

"It's really going green," Jorgensen said. "I don't have to do a lot of hauling. It uses materials that are already there."

While Hawkins Avenue and Margaret Avenue are among the top priorities, Jorgensen said he expects to add more roads to this list as is beginning to draft up his 2013 Road Program.

Each year, Smithtown Highway Department puts forth a road program informing residents which roadways will be reconstructed or repaved by mid-spring. 

We're curious, what local roads do you think are in desperate need of repaving? Tell us what should go on the town's priority list in the comments below.