STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Officials on Staten Island’s South Shore want New York City to widen part of a major road in the area before traffic gets any worse.
On Wednesday, Councilmember Frank Morano and Assemblymember Michael Reilly, Republicans representing the South Shore, hosted a press conference opposite a warehouse under construction at Arthur Kill Road and Nassau Place in Richmond Valley.
At the press conference, both elected officials called on the city to begin designing and implementing a road widening project for the southern segment of Arthur Kill Road.
“I am calling, along with my colleagues, for the Arthur Kill road widening from Nassau [Place] through Huguenot [Avenue] to be treated as an urgent priority of the new mayoral administration,” Morano said.
According to the elected officials, they will be sending a letter to several parts of the New York City government, including the current commissioners of the Department of Transportation and Department of Design and Construction.
In the letter, the officials said they are urging that the city prioritize an expansion of the southern portion of Arthur Kill Road to avoid the timeline of the current Arthur Kill widening project, between Clarke Avenue and Richmond Avenue, which was fully funded in 2015 and long delayed.
Additionally, the letter will be forwarded to the current mayoral administration and to the incoming mayor-elect.
Along with those in attendance at the press conference, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and State Sen. Andrew Lanza will sign on to the letter, according to the officials.
While the elected officials acknowledged that several factors delayed the start of the existing widening project — including environmental concerns and the pandemic — they said they do not want to see that timeline repeated.
“This is not about blaming anyone for the past,” Morano explained. “It’s about acting responsibly.”
The sense of urgency is due to a series of projects planned for a nearly 2.7-mile section of Arthur Kill Road that are set to increase traffic in the area.
A truck drives past an asphalt milling machine left on Arthur Kill Road near Nassau Place in Richmond Valley. South Shore elected officials are calling on the city to expedite a widening project for this stretch of Arthur Kill Road.(Advance/SILive.com | Mike Matteo)
Once these projects are up and running, the road, which already sees heavy industrial traffic, will have an additional 1.4 million square feet of warehouses and vehicle storage added.
One of the projects in particular would bring a 16-acre trucking terminal with space for 184 tractor trailers.
Another project being built near where the press conference took place would add 331,700 square feet of warehouse space and 60 loading docks along the road.
With these projects already approved, and with some being built, the elected officials said they are worried about the effect that trucks and other traffic will have on the surrounding area.
“I think the most important thing that we have to remember is public safety. The response time from FDNY, the NYPD and not to mention the collection of garbage,” Reilly said. “Without the infrastructure in place, we are jeopardizing the local community.”
By prioritizing a widening on this southern section of Arthur Kill Road, the elected officials said they believe the surrounding area will be able to handle the increased congestion.
“Don’t build the traffic first and fix the road later,” Morano said. “Don’t turn the South Shore into a truck corridor without the infrastructure necessary to support it.”
When asked about the request from the elected officials, a spokesperson from the DOT said the agency would review any letter sent on this topic.
A representative for the Department of Design and Construction responded that the agency cannot initiate projects, like the widening of a road.
Ongoing Arthur Kill widening
The ongoing Arthur Kill Road widening project that the elected officials referred to is a $15 million project would redesign a roughly 1.5-mile stretch of Arthur Kill Road, between Clarke Avenue and Richmond Avenue.
This project was first funded in 2015 by then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, but several factors pushed back the start of the project.
One reason for the lengthy timeline is the project’s proximity to sensitive wetlands, which requires the completion of an Environmental Assessment statement, a process that usually takes two years to complete, the DDC previously told the Advance/SILive.com.
The project also requires cooperation and approval from several agencies at different levels of government, including the city Department of Environmental Protection and the Parks Department, as well as the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
The DDC also must work with the DOT to review the roadway designs in an effort to minimize the amount of private land that the city must acquire to complete the project.
In 2018, the DEP added additional storm sewer and water main work to the project, from Richmond Avenue to Cortelyou Avenue. This required a partial redesign and delayed the entire process.
Additionally, the consultant responsible for designing the project halted all work from March to December 2020 due to the pandemic, further delaying the project.
This story is part of series investigating the rapid industrial development of Arthur Kill Road. Do you live, work or operate a business near one of these facilities? Contact Jessica Jones-Gorman at jgorman@siadvance.com to voice your concerns or discuss community impact.