Getting around Great Neck these days is a strategic matter of planning a route to avoid the extensive roadwork that has made navigating major arteries more challenging and dangerous. Roads that have been roughed by milling and manhole covers that have been exposed, make driving treacherous, especially at night.

On top of the reconfiguration and resurfacing of Great Neck Road, the Nassau County roads of Bayview Avenue, Old Mill Road, and Arrandale Avenue have been milled and filled in preparation for resurfacing. Prep work on sections of Middle Neck Road is currently being performed at night.

Roadwork began on Arrandale Avenue three weeks ago when the county's contracted company, Inter County Paving Associates, Inc. showed up unannounced at 7 a.m. to begin the loud and bone-rattling installation of new storm water pipes.

The Great Neck Record did not receive any press releases from Nassau County on the impending roadwork that was to follow. According to a Nassau County spokesperson, the mayors of the affected villages did receive a letter regarding the planned construction. However, the villages were not provided with regular updates on scheduled work. Nor were all the mayors, whose villages were affected, contacted. Although many residents of Kings Point regularly travel on Bayview Avenue to reach the tip of the peninsula, that village was not notified of the roadwork.

Arrandale Avenue was originally scheduled for resurfacing on July 18, but obviously that paving did not occur. The repaving was re-scheduled for Thursday, July 24, but heavy morning rains prevented the work from proceeding. A call to the Nassau County press office on July 28 asking for an update on the paving schedule was not returned in time for inclusion in this article.

President of the Village Officials Association Leonard Samansky said that on the morning of July 28, he called Nassau County Public Works Commissioner Ray Ribeiro to report a complaint from a Saddle Rock resident about having damaged a tire on the raised manhole covers on Bayview Avenue. Mr. Ribeiro told the mayor that the completion of the roadwork was expected "in a couple of weeks." Mayor Samansky told the Record, "This kind of delay in finishing the work and disregard for the residents is just unacceptable." He also added that the exposed manholes could have been made safer if "cold patches, a material that can be easily put down and taken up" had been used to round off the edges of manhole covers.

We asked a county spokesperson last week why updates were not posted on the county's website. She replied that the website (www.nassaucountyny.gov) is undergoing a revamping and such an idea might be considered for the future. A visit to the website indicated that the latest posting, July 21, contains the photographs and names of 59 people who have recently been arrested for DWI; there is also information about County Executive Thomas Suozzi's public relations campaign to promote tourism on Long Island.

Any resident with a comment, question or complaint on this topic or any other topic of concern regarding Nassau County, may call the Office of Constituent Affairs at 571-6000. The director of the office is Kim Collins.