As strong winds and tidal flooding swept across the North Fork Saturday, Southold Town Highway Department crews fanned out to clear debris, place barricades and monitor flooded roads — beginning what could be several days of storm cleanup.

The National Weather Service said Sunday that rain from the powerful nor’easter could linger into Monday morning, with another round of minor coastal flooding possible at high tide even as winds ease.

For Highway Superintendent Dan Goodwin and his crews, preparing for the storm began long before the first barricades went up.

“We do a lot of work all year long,” Mr. Goodwin said. “We cut trees every single day, not because we want to, but taking the bad ones down prevents us from dealing with them on days like this.”

During a ride-along with The Suffolk Times Saturday, Mr. Goodwin explained how the department assesses storm damage and prioritizes its response. His route took him through New Suffolk and its beach, into Cutchogue, up to Town Beach in Southold and back to Mattituck.

“My deputy’s in the office, we’re getting crews in and we’re notifying each other,” Mr. Goodwin said. “The police are in contact with him and we have a list that we’re running down, taking note of trees and debris on the roads.”

Mr. Goodwin acts as the eyes on the road. Around 7:30 a.m., he headed out in response to his first call. The department staggers its crews so workers are available if a night shift is needed.

“We have a crew just putting barricades out,” he said. “And then we have two cleanup crews going around with heavy equipment, basically one east and one west.”

Road foremen assess whether crews can handle a fallen tree themselves or need PSEG Long Island to respond first, he said.

Southold has roughly 400 lane miles of roads and 4,500 storm drain structures, according to Mr. Goodwin, making cleanup an extensive process that could take several days to complete.

The damage went beyond blocked roads. A tree struck a home on Hippodrome Drive while its residents were away on vacation, causing minor structural damage, Southold Police Chief Steven Grattan said Saturday afternoon. A town building inspector and PSEG were notified.

Police also handled downed trees and wires, partial road closures and flooding on Skunk Lane. No major roadways were closed at that point, Mr. Grattan said, as The Suffolk Times reported Saturday.

Tree removal is complicated, and not all situations are equal. The Highway Department also has limits on where its crews can work. Private roads are the responsibility of property owners, while state Route 25 is handled by the New York State Department of Transportation and county roads by Suffolk County’s Department of Public Works. Greenport has its own road crew.

Hundreds of North Fork customers remained without power Sunday morning, according to PSEG Long Island’s outage map. Across Long Island and the Rockaways, 23,668 customers were without electricity at 8 a.m., the utility said. Crews were working 16-hour shifts, though strong winds could temporarily slow repairs.

When PSEG is needed, the wait can depend on whether a fallen tree has interrupted electrical service, Mr. Goodwin said.

“If the power goes out, it puts you higher on the list of getting the problem dealt with,” he said. “If that tree comes down and the power doesn’t go out, they’re not as quick to respond.”

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A road adjacent to Tuthill Rd in New Suffolk deals with flooding. (Credit: Nick Mongiovi)



Police barricade blocks of road In New Suffolk on Saturday. (Nick Mongiovi photo)

Photos by Nick Mongiovi

The post Inside Southold’s Highway Department storm response as nor’easter topples trees, floods roads appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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