'Deterioration' in Concrete Caused Ponquogue Bridge Closure; Timeline for Repairs Is Still Uncertain

The State Department of Transportation last week ordered the Ponquogue Bridge in Hampton Bays closed until further notice after an inspection found signs of “deterioration” of the 38-year-old concrete girders supporting the bridge’s elevated roadway.

Inspection crews from the DOT and the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, which owns the bridge, were at the bridge again on Monday afternoon conducting further inspections of the elevated roadway and the bridge’s supports, which had been identified as an area of concern after an annual inspection by the state back in October.

Following that inspection, after further analysis of the findings and calculations about the load capacity of the bridge, the DOT determined that it would order the bridge closed in the interest of public safety, pending further analysis.

Neither the county nor the state has offered much in the way of specifics about the inspection findings to the public, the specific nature of the damage found or the timeline for how long it might take to make repairs or deem the bridge safe for traffic again — saying only that the bridge will be closed “until further notice.”

“The Suffolk County Department of Public Works is working with the New York State Department of Transportation to expedite a thorough review and perform additional assessments of the Ponquogue Bridge,” a statement sent by a county DPW spokesman said. “While engineers are working as quickly as possible to identify an appropriate course of action, safety remains the utmost priority. The bridge will remain closed until further notice, and motorists are advised to continue to utilize alternative routes.”

Until Ponquouge Bridge is reopened, the Post Lane bridge over the Quogue Canal in Quogue, 5.4 miles to the west, will be the easternmost connection between the mainland and Dune Road on the barrier island. It has a 20 ton weight limit.

The bridge was built in 1938 and is the oldest drawbridge still operated by Suffolk County. It underwent emergency repairs to replace part of the drawbridge mechanisms in 2023.

Southampton Town Supervisor Maria Moore said that she had personally spoken to county DPW Commissioner Charles Bartha this week, and that he was not able to offer much in the way of details about the problems identified or the timeline for getting the bridge open to traffic again.

“I emphasized to them that this is a very critical passage for our community, and that I hope they will get whatever work has to be done going as quickly as possible,” Moore said. “Thankfully, it’s not in the middle of the high season, for now, so if there’s repairs that have to be made, hopefully, they can get them done before it’s a major inconvenience and impacts the businesses down there.”

The stretch of Dune Road east of Ponquogue is home to the state’s second-largest commercial fishing port and two restaurants and their associated marina dockages.

Briana Oakland, who operates Oakland’s Restaurant and Sundays on the Bay at her family’s property at the eastern end of Dune Road, said the threat of the bridge being closed into the spring and even potentially the summer is scary. Sundays is due to reopen for the season this coming weekend, and Oakland’s on April 1.

The two restaurants and the associated marinas that are home to 72 private boats, employ more than 100 people in the summer season — and 90 percent of the customers coming to the Oakland’s family businesses come via the Ponquogue Bridge.

“Sundays reopens this weekend and we’re curious how it is going to affect us,” she said this week. “We have weddings booked, we have delivery trucks coming, we have a lot of staff, and our customers all come over that bridge. It would be a real problem for us. And not just for us. The commercial fishing dock, they ship all their fish out. There’s weight limits on those little bridges, I don’t know if those trucks can even go over them.”

Southampton Town Director of Public Safety Ryan Murphy said the Town Police and local fire departments have coordinated new response plans in the event of an emergency at the commercial fishing docks and businesses there in light of the bridge being closed.

“The state was doing a routine inspection, not something related to an emergency incident or anything, and while doing the inspection they identified some questionable or concerning areas so they flagged it to take a closer look,” Murphy said. “For safety purposes, they closed it as a precautionary measure while the state and the county analyze the data and discuss what the next step is — whether that’s reopening it or making repairs.”

The 2,182-foot concrete bridge was completed in 1986, replacing the wooden drawbridge that had been the connection between Hampton Bays and Dune Road since the 1930s. The span stands 55 feet above the channel running beneath it between the eastern portion of the bay and the western portion and is supported by 29 concrete footings anchored in the bay bottom. The ramps leading to the old bridge remain on the north and south sides of the Ponquogue neck and are used as fishing piers.

The DOT has flagged seven Suffolk County bridges, including two in Southampton Town, with “poor” condition ratings, and the lowest percentage of bridges with “good” ratings, according to a report issued in 2020, and blamed insufficient funding for repairs and maintenance. Among the bridges flagged is also the Smith Point Bridge, a 1,200-foot steel span built in 1959, also owned by the county DPW that, like Ponquogue, connects the mainland to the barrier islands. The county has plans to replace the bridge starting later this year.

In a statement to the public, the town has asked motorists to be cognizant of traffic impacts on other bridges leading to Dune Road while the Ponquogue Bridge is closed to traffic.

Residents and motorists can enroll for alerts and updates on the status of the bridge and other matters by signing up for the town’s Notify Me messaging system at southamptontownny.gov/2070/town-of-southampton-emergency-alerts.