Long Island Expressway expansion construction has come to the Roslyn area. This past week, construction firms hired by the state began work on expanding the LIE service road on exit 37 that runs into East Hills. According to personnel on the scene, the work is going to last several months, possibly into October. The job entails widening the service road and building a retaining wall, also.

During the first week of work, numerous trees along the road were chopped down; in addition, two residential properties that had been purchased by the state were also destroyed.

LIE expansion began in the North Shore area last summer. When it did, residents complained about the work, especially the number of trees that were being cut down to make way for highway expansion. This despite the fact that their village officials had long approved of LIE expansion. In fact, the only village to raise much resistance to original LIE plans was East Hills. Village officials opposed earlier plans on environmental, maintenance and school safety grounds. They also opposed the construction of high occupancy vehicle lanes (HOV).

The village's three-and-a-half year struggle with the state ended last fall, when East Hills officials and those from the New York State Department of Transportation worked out a deal that satisfied most of the village's concerns on how the construction might affect the local area.

A Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by a New York State Supreme Court judge and signed by officials from both parties called for revisions in the size of HOV lanes, no HOV enforcement lanes in the village, no separate HOV entrance or exit lanes between Exit 32 and 40, and the lengthening of LIE bridges over crossroads in the village.

Specifics of the settlement include:

* The typical lane addition will be 14' wide in each direction which will provide for an additional 12' wide travel lane and a 2' wide HOV buffer.

* Full 10' wide right shoulders will be provided throughout. The purpose of the shoulders is to provide a safety area for disabled motorists, and a means of emergency response to and around an incident or around maintenance operations when the normal approach in the roadbed of the expressway is unavailable.

* A contract with the Nassau County police department to provide supplemental police services when needed.

* Providing the Roslyn School District $216,000 for additional busing services for local schoolchildren.

* The construction of "sound walls" for the benefit of the Roslyn Middle School and residents on Woodhollow Road, Potters Lane, and Locust Lane.

* Bridge closings to be scheduled in a manner which will be least disruptive to the community and the school district.

* The roadway profile of the South Service Road near Roslyn Middle School will be lowered to improve sight distance for motorists and increase pedestrian safety for schoolchildren.

* A DOT traffic coordinator will be appointed to work with village and school district officials, civic association leaders and the community in general all to minimize the project's impact on local traffic.

When the memorandum was signed, East Hills Mayor Michael R. Koblenz hailed it as one that would leave local residents with "a significantly greater degree of safety, security, and communication." Mayor Koblenz thanked the Roslyn School District Board of Education for supporting the village and admitted that his only regret was that more officials from neighboring North Shore villages did not join East Hills's often-lonely struggle against the DOT.