Set Weight and Size Restrictions on Local Riverhead Roads

The Riverhead Town Board is currently discussing a proposal to amend the town code and set eight-ton weight limits on Twomey Avenue in Calverton. This is in the wake of the now-rejected plan of diverting 3,000 heavy tractor-trailers off I-95 and onto the North Fork via the Cross Sound Ferry.

Riverhead’s Highway Superintendent George Woodson, in response to the plan, said, “Our local roads just aren’t built to handle that weight.” Supervisor Sean Walter declared, “This idea is dead on arrival…the town of Riverhead actually has the power to stop this and we will use that power accordingly…we could and we would put weight limits on Sound Avenue.” And Councilwoman Jodi Giglio added, “Our roads can’t take this abuse.”

The amendment to set weight limits is also a direct result of the 18-22 wheel tractor-trailers that are now a regular part of United Riverhead Terminal’s oil tanker fleet. While the town wasn’t looking, these massive tankers began pummeling Riverhead’s rural roads on a consistent basis, including Sound Shore Road, Penny’s Road, Sound Avenue, Twomey Avenue, and Edwards Avenue. Curiously, the board is only concerned with these trucks driving on Twomey. We need to change that.

Please sign the petition below and tell the Riverhead Town Board to set weight AND size restrictions on ALL local roads.

The potholes are bad (and dangerous) enough. New York’s five boroughs have weight and size restrictions and have made it illegal for trucks of a certain size, especially those carrying hazardous materials, to enter because the larger trucks have a tendency to tip over. Let’s also do everything we can to prevent a tragic accident on one of our narrow roadways.