Port Washington, NY – The Town of North Hempstead will be adding some improvements and safety features to the Port Washington Railroad station parking lot in the next few weeks, as the MTA Long Island Rail Road installs a temporary bridge extension to an existing pedestrian bridge at the station. When completed, the bridge extension, an idea proposed by the LIRR and approved by the Town of North Hempstead, will restore pedestrian access to the Haven Avenue side of Port Washington Station. The bridge leading to the Haven Avenue side was closed in April after the Railroad found that elements of the concrete structure had deteriorated beyond repair.

The Town will be re-painting approximately 172 parking spaces, and will be using a high visibility paint for illumination for directional arrows, crosswalks and possible ‘No Parking’ zebra striped areas. The Town will also be re-constructing the cement divider between Haven Avenue and the parking lot and providing additional Public Safety staff between Thursday, October 16 and Sunday, October 19 when the extension bridge construction will take place and in the weeks that follow. In addition, the Town will be working closely with the Port Washington Police Department to assure that traffic patterns and pedestrian traffic flows smoothly during the construction and after the new bridge is in place.

“The commuters at our busy Port Washington train station will certainly benefit greatly from this new pedestrian bridge and the refurbishing of the Haven Avenue divider and high visibility striping,” said Supervisor Bosworth. “This project has been a great example of a cooperative effort between many levels of government and the LIRR and it has resulted in a very positive outcome, which addresses both the safety and quality of life for our commuters.”

To carry out the four-day work plan, the LIRR will have to close the Haven Avenue parking lot all day on Saturday, October 18 and Sunday, October 19 to accommodate the large construction equipment needed to do the job. The project will have no impact on train service.

The temporary structure is being built with modular, pre-fabricated materials and, once installed, will result in six fewer parking spaces in the Haven Avenue parking lot.

4-Day Work Schedule
The LIRR said the project construction schedule is as follows:

• Thursday, October 16 – LIRR workers and contractors will set up a work zone that will require an area of 10-12 parking spaces.
• Friday, October 17 – Preliminary staging work continues.
• Saturday, October 18: The Haven Avenue parking lot will be closed to accommodate the heavy construction equipment needed to erect the bridge extension.
• Sunday, October 19: Closure of Haven Avenue parking lot continues until the work is completed.
• Monday, October 20: The Haven Avenue parking lot will be re-opened to commuters and the new bridge extension will be ready for their use.