Huntington also renews speed restrictions for area around September 3 Lighthouse Music Festival
The project embarking on the critical foundation repair to the Huntington Lighthouse has begun, prompting the Town of Huntington to establish zones in the vicinity of the lighthouse where during the next three to four months speeds will be reduced and boaters will be banned to help ensure safety.
Additionally, the Town will once again impose a 5 mph speed limit within a half mile of the
Lighthouse September 3 so that boaters wanting to attend the Lighthouse’s annual Music Festival can enjoy the event and leave safely. The speed limit will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The restoration project officially got underway about three weeks ago when equipment began being positioned around the iconic Lighthouse, which dates to 1912. The actual heavy work is beginning this week and is expected to continue for three to four months. The project includes cleaning the foundation of natural growth and deteriorated concrete; removing compromised rebar and replacing it with state-of-the-art rebar drilled into the foundation; expanding the foundation to increase the Lighthouse’s structural base by 12 to 18 inches; removing and then replacing and expanding the rip rap in areas of high wave action and winter ice interaction; and repairing the upper structure masonry, eliminating structure and surface cracks to ensure water-tight integrity of the concrete tower. The $871,000 project is Phase 1, and represents a major phase of the Lighthouse restoration.
Because of the ongoing construction, the Town has established an exclusionary zone in all directions around the Lighthouse, banning persons and boats from getting closer than 100 feet. The Town is also imposing a 5 mph speed limit in the area immediately beyond the exclusionary zone, and will be vigorously enforcing both restrictions. Two maps showing the restricted areas – one version showing coordinates locating the speed buoys, the other simply demarcating the affected area – can be downloaded from the Town’s website.
“Everybody in the Town is excited that the major restoration of the Huntington Lighthouse is underway, and I congratulate the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society for making this project a reality,” Huntington Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “While I know people are curious about the progress of the work, it is important for their safety and the safety of the project’s workers that they stay away from the area directly around the Lighthouse, obey speed limits in the area and avoid moving heavy equipment.”
“I am thrilled that the Town is so behind the restoration project and is always there to give us support,” said Pam Setchell, president of the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society. “Our major concern is safety, for the workers and for boaters. It’s hard not to be curious, but we recommend that people follow the progress on the society’s Facebook page and keep a safe distance away.”
The 5 mph speed limit will expand September 3 for the Music Festival. In addition, the Huntington Town harbormaster, working with the Suffolk County Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Lloyd Harbor Village harbormaster, will again step up patrols in the area of the festival, which attracts more than 1,000 boats carrying over 12,000 attendees who come from as far away as Rhode Island and New Jersey.
The Town will have rapid rescue recovery units available, if necessary, and work in coordination with local fire departments on rescues. As has been done in the past, law enforcement boats will be strategically located throughout the area to help ensure an orderly dispersal after the event and to optimize the response time for boats in need of assistance.
Among the agencies that have committed resources to assist in enforcement and rescue operations are the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Eatons Neck, the Suffolk County and Northport Village Police Departments, the Lloyd Harbor Village harbormaster and the Centerport, Cold Spring Harbor, Halesite, Huntington and Northport Fire Departments and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.
This is the fifth consecutive year the Town has set the reduced speed limit for the area around the Lighthouse during the Music Fest, a move that was originally prompted by a tragedy in Oyster Bay on July 4, 2012, that took the lives of three children who drowned when the boat in which they were watching a fireworks display capsized.
After that tragedy, Huntington enacted legislation authorizing the Harbormaster’s Office to establish 5 mph zones during aquatic events and increased boating safety classes and other boating safety measures. Last year, the Town placed two buoys carrying the warning, “Slow No Wake” in the area around the lighthouse.
A map showing the area affected by the speed restriction can be downloaded.
Photo by Pam Setchell.