Construction on 108th Street, Grand Central Nearing The End?

Construction on 108th Street, the Grand Central Parkway access road and 62nd Drive in Forest Hills is progressing as planned, according to representatives of the Department of Transportation.

Two-way traffic was restored to a two-block stretch of 108th Street earlier this month, and construction on Colonial Avenue and 62nd Drive is expected to be finished soon.

The work is a part of a long-term plan to install a storm sewer in the area to help alleviate flooding that occurs in the area during heavy rain.

"We are pretty much finished with 62nd Drive," Department of Design and Construction community liaison Carrie Agar said this week. "I'm hoping we'll only be another month or so in the area working."

The access road that runs parallel to the Grand Central Parkway, however, has been a bigger issue. Currently, the site is reduced down to one lane at several intersections, with large barriers set up.

The traffic there is one-way by design, but the roadway itself has room for parking on both sides and multiple traffic lanes. Currently, several lanes are blocked by equipment and barriers.

"In design there was some sort of an issue with something they found in the ground, so as soon as that's resolved they can get to work and we'll be out of there," Agar said. "I would venture to say it would probably be more than a month."

The Department of Design and Construction said it will update the community further on their progress in January.

One other large facet of the restoration, the reconstruction of curbs and sidewalks on 110th Street, should start once work in the area on the storm sewer itself has completed.