By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Community members in the Village and SoHo fear traffic jams from construction-related closures at water main sites could become a nightmare for residents if proper precautions aren’t taken.
Starting this summer, traffic lanes will be closed along Hudson Street and several cross streets under a $8-million three-year construction project by the Department of Environmental Protection. But lane closures will reroute traffic nearby adding to woes about traffic congestion already.
“I can see the far West Village being one huge traffic nightmare,” said Ellen Peterson, of the West Village. “There will be one huge domino effect.”
Construction will connect pipes to a water shaft at Laight Street. It is part of a plan — the largest capital project in New York City’s history — to develop a third water tunnel that will connect the city to upstate water supplies.
However, residents said traffic from Hudson Street leading in and out of the Holland Tunnel is already backed up, especially in rush hour, and congestion on surrounding streets will only be exacerbated by rerouting.
“We can’t just be concerned about traffic going through Hudson Street, but around Hudson Street on streets that are already congested,” said Tobi Bergman of Community Board 2. “Spring is already a mess, Canal Street can be impassible. We must see that it doesn’t get worse.”
Locals also said traffic on the West Side Highway could be become a bottle neck with construction blockages pushing congestion from downtown into SoHo and the Village.
Shane Ojar, of the Department of Design & Construction, told residents that streets could not be closed off entirely and that at least one traffic lane will be open at a time.
He said the DDC hopes to arrange another meeting to take in community input on traffic rerouting, which is coordinated with the Department of Transportation.
