Improvements to the Browns Lane/Shore Road project have been an ongoing project since work on Bellport’s main pier dock began in January 2020, via a FEMA grant.

Multiple issues addressed necessitated a change in road elevations, said village clerk John Kocay, which meant raising the street and also bulkheads, as well as adding a hydrodynamic separator, which all figured into the process.

“Also, we wanted to put in a new vehicular barrier at the end of Browns Lane,” said mayor Ray Fell. “But a lot of the residents wanted wood. So, we compromised. It will be framed in wood, but hasn’t been installed yet.”

Plans for the stormwater drain system have to be approved. “Shore Road never had a stormwater system,” explained Kocay. “It’s narrow, and our initial paths started as dirt roads. It’s hard to maintain a village in modern times; our roads don’t drain properly.”

Kocay said residents who live on Shore Road have access to and from their homes. “Their driveways aren’t closed off,” he said.

The village still has to get funding for the terminus of Browns Lane repair, Kocay said.