DOT Close to Awarding Contract for Route 347 Construction

Reconstruction of the Route 347 and Route 112 intersection could begin in the near future for residents in the Port Jefferson-Three Village area. 

Eileen Peters, a spokeswoman for New York State Department of Transportation, said the agency is in the process of reviewing contractor bids for the reconstruction of the Route 34 and Route 112 intersection. 

The DOT has plans to add a third lane traveling in each direction on Route 347 within a half-mile of Route 112 to ease traffic at the intersection. In addition, a jug handles will be constructed: a lane for drivers heading northbound on Route 112 to eastbound Route 347, a lane for drivers westbound on Route 347 to get to southbound Route 112. 

These changes will take place as part of the DOT's Route 347 greenway project. The project aims to transform 15-miles of Route 347 into a greenway using modern technology to improve motorist safety and make it pedestrian friendly.The project which stretches from the Northern State Parkway in Hauppauge to Route 25A in Port Jefferson. 

The first phase of the project along the one-mile stretch from Veterans Memorial Highway east to Route 111/Wheeler Road in Hauppauge is nearing completion after more than two years of roadwork. 

Contractors aim to finish finalizing traffic signals and various roadway drainage projects on the one-mile stretch in the Hauppauge-Smithtown area, according to Peters. Then construction will move east from Route 111/Wheeler Road to Mount Pleasant Road in Smithtown.