Several Riverhead Roads Remain Impassible

Though the snows stopped early Monday morning, crews from Riverhead's highway department continued to fight a losing battle in the afternoon as sharp winds blew drifts onto roads they had just cleared.

"All roads north of Route 58 are giving us problems," Highway Superintendent George "Gio" Woodson said as he piloted a snow plow on Horton Ave. "Middle Road, Doctors Path, Toomey, Riley, Young, Herricks, you name it. We have to go back every hour to clear them."

His advice to drivers: "Please stay home and let us do our work."

Woodson said that he had been working straight through with only an hour's rest since 10:00 a.m. Sunday. The same, he said, was true for his 35 men, plus several employees he had pulled in from other town departments to man plows.

Woodson said that to the south, Peconic Bay Boulevard in South Jamesport and Aquebogue was also giving his crews problems. He also said he was close to ordering Reeves Ave. be closed to traffic because it was impossible to keep the road cleared.

Lt. Tom Lessard, manning the command desk at Riverhead police headquarters, said that Hulse Landing Rd. had already been shut down. Lessard said there had been few reports of accidents, none serious.

"We had our share of vehicles stuck at certain locations like Reeves Ave," Lessard said. "But the highway crews have been able to pull people out."

Lessard said police officers have had to respond to multiple burglary alarms. "When you have the wind blowing like this, it sets off a lot of business and residential alarms."

He expressed concern about what will happen if the heavy winds continue into the night, particularly if the highway department isn't able to muster enough workers.

A tired group of workers gathered at the highway yard on Osborne Ave. to refuel. Most said they had been on the job continuously since 10:00 a.m. on Sunday and were looking forward to being about to take a break for some sleep at 5:00 p.m.

"Five o'clock will be thirty hours if you do the math," said one.

Meanwhile, in the highway department's office, Deputy Superintendent Mark Gajowski and Senior Administrative Assistant Susan Beal were busy making phone calls and working up a schedule so they could have enough coverage throughout the night.

"We'll be rolling all night long." Gajowski said. "My crews have been out all night long and they're exhausted, so we're trying to schedule things so they can get some rest. But we have to do what we have to do."

A Patch reporter, who started driving around the Town of Riverhead in an SUV beginning at 1:30 p.m. Monday, reported dangerous conditions on Sound Ave., with wind-lashed snow reducing visibility to just a few feet in spots.

If anything, he said the winds appeared to be increasing as he ended his drive and headed home at around 3:30. He reported large stretches of Reeves Ave. impassible, with only one lane open and the lane that was open buried in two feet deep in snow.

He said that on Rte. 58 and Rte. 25, one could see the pavement with no difficulty driving reported. He said it looked like a normal day on East Main St., with several shops still open.