Bayville Bridge to close in February for monthlong renovation

The Bayville Bridge, a main thoroughfare into the village, will be closed in late February to roadway traffic for more than a month as an ongoing rehabilitation project enters its final stretch, Nassau County officials said.

The bridge will be closed in both directions starting Feb. 22 for about 35 days, according to a letter from Nassau public works Deputy Commissioner Thomas George to Bayville Mayor Steve Minicozzi. 

The bridge connects the villages of Bayville and Mill Neck, and is one of two roads that lead into Bayville. 

Mill Neck Mayor Peter Quick said the work was needed but hoped the closure would not last longer than expected.

“It’ll create traffic through Mill Neck that we’ll have to endure for hopefully only 35 days,” Quick said.

He said detour signs have already been placed along the road heading to the span.

Following the closure, the department of public works will conduct mechanical and electrical work on the southern portion of the drawbridge, the letter said. The agency expects to complete the project on June 11. 

“These steps are part of the project’s final phase,” George wrote in the letter.

The bridge rehabilitation is federally funded, according to Vertex, an engineering firm retained by the county to provide design and construction support for the project. The rehabilitation includes structural upgrades to the bridge, the widening of sidewalks and the automation of the bridge’s lift control system, according to the firm. 

The county shut down the bridge last spring when the project encountered “unforeseen" issues, according to the county Department of Public Works, and motorists encountered intermittent delays throughout construction, Quick wrote last fall on the Mill Neck's website.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ