Farmingdale Residents Unhappy With 'Awful' Route 109 Repaving Job

FARMINGDALE, NY — One side of Route 109 in Farmingdale has been repaved as part of a long-awaited multi-million dollar New York state project. As far as some motorists are concerned, the state missed the mark.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January announced $151 million in funding for the renewal of state roads impacted by extreme weather. Of that, $4.1 million was earmarked to renew Route 109 from the Nassau-Suffolk County line to Route 24 in Farmingdale.

The east/southbound lane is done. However, the west/north half is not slated to begin until spring, Farmingdale Mayor Ralph Ekstrand said based on communication with state officials.

Residents are, so far, not happy with the project's results, as they took to social media to voice their concerns.

"They left the worse side for last," Marc Williams, of Farmingdale, said. "They did an awful job on the side they did already. It's bumpy and wavy and not what a newly-paved road should feel like — car is bouncing up and down as you drive. Manhole covers are too low, so it still feels like you're hitting potholes. The seam between the two pours they did isn't between the lanes on the lines like it should be. That's the first place its going to start to crack, and it's going to be in the middle of the right lane and the potholes will be even more horrendous than they were previously. Easily the worst repaving job I've ever seen."

Paul DeGennaro, another Farmingdale resident, also said that the east side was repaved first when the west side was in more disrepair "by far."

"There is a seam on the east side in the middle which will surely lead to issues during the freeze-thaw cycle," he said. "Can we get a refund on the poor job?"

Ekstrand on Tuesday told Patch he plans to have the village's engineer take a look at the Route 109 paving job and the interfaces with village streets south of the route.

Stephen Canzoneri, spokesman of the New York State Department of Transportation, said the state is aware of the road surface issues on Route 109.

"[We] have instructed our contractor to make the necessary repairs at the contractor’s expense," Canzoneri said.

The state's other planned road renewal project on Long Island is $6.6 million for Route 25A from Nicolls Road to Main Street/East Broadway in the Town of Brookhaven.