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Bill Hillman has been the chief engineer for Suffolk County for 20 years and has spent all of that time working on the traffic congestion problems along County Road 39 in Southampton. The only real solutions to the problem, he told a group of residents last week, are massive and costly infrastructure projects that he personally doubts will ever win support from the local community. MICHAEL WRIGHT
One speaker in the small crowd of residents that came to the first public information meeting on the latest in a string of studies of the South Fork's crushing traffic congestion said that the conditions on the roadway are a "death trap" for some residents. MICHAEL WRIGHT
County engineers say that traffic data has shown that small changes along the local roads, like flashing traffic signals and extra lanes, do not actually speed up traffic - and often slow it down. MICHAEL WRIGHT
The afternoon traffic backups on the South Fork last for nearly 6 hours some days, a congestion condition only seen around major cities, according to Suffolk County engineers. MICHAEL WRIGHT
Alex Prego will take over as the county's chief engineer later this year and will steer the County Road 39 study, which is expected to take more than a year. MICHAEL WRIGHT
Michael Wright on Oct 23, 2024