A culvert on Oscaleta Road in South Salem suddenly collapsed Sunday, March 15, causing the road to be closed while crews repair the part of the road.
According to Lewisboro Town Supervisor Tony Goncalves, the Lewisboro Highway Department closed the road between Twin Lakes Road and South Shore Drive and assessed the damage. Photos show a large rectangular portion of the road sunken into the ground.
Residents are urged to stay away from the closed off area until further notice.
Collapsed culvert was set to be replaced
Goncalves said the collapsed culvert had already been planned to be replaced with $1.4 million from a New York State Department of Transportation BridgeNY grant.
The design work for the culvert repairs was awarded to Tectonic Builders Inc., an Ardsley-based contractor. Goncalves said Tectonic still remains the lead contractor in the project and has been conducting environmental studies and geotechnical surveys, but the company is still in the preliminary design phase of the project.
Are temporary repairs coming for culvert? Community forum coming March 26
Goncalves said a community info session with Tectonic is scheduled for Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m. at Lewisboro Court building on the Lewisboro Elementary School campus in South Salem. Goncalves said preliminary final designs will have to be approved by NYDOT, as well as the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
Construction on the project based on the original schedule is estimated to begin in 2027, but Goncalves said the Town of Lewisboro is looking into expediting the process because of the damage. He said the town is also considering the possibility of temporary emergency repairs for the road, but it remains unclear when those could be implemented.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Culvert collapses under South Salem road, now closed to drivers
Reporting by Alexandra Rivera, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
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