Contractor looking for LIPA solution, work still stopped

Shelter Islanders were still in the dark Wednesday on what was happening with the Long Island Power Authority’s pipeline project and its contractor.

Work was shut down abruptly Saturday morning and stopped for five days, with neither LIPA or its contractor, Bortech, saying exactly why or when work would resume. At press time, the Reporter was still waiting word from LIPA to determine what options are being discussed to get the project restarted.

LIPA cancelled an early morning meeting at Town Hall Wednesday.his meeting had been slated to discuss the work shutdown and what might be done to deal with a drill rig that malfunctioned Saturday as it was guiding 4,000 feet of piping through an underwater tunnel from Crescent Beach to Southold. They were still working on a solution, Shelter Island Public Works Commissioner Jay Card Jr. told the Reporter Wednesday morning. LIPA and Bortech met in Hicksville on Tuesday to discuss the problem, but no information was available about that meeting.

LIPA spokesman Mark Gross said Monday he couldn’t speculate on whether the piping would have to be pulled back to the Island to fix the drilling rig mechanism or would require an alternative solution. Efforts to reach Bortech Company CEO Robert Titanic were met with referrals back to LIPA.

The project, which will provide a much needed back up electrical source to the Island, began in the spring and has stretched through the summer. Even if the last stage of pulling the pipe to Southold had been completed last weekend, sources said it would still be at least three weeks at a minimum for the project to be completed.

There have been several major delays along the way, including drilling that twice proved inadequate before the workers were able to create a workable tunnel. Last week, there were some equipment breakdowns that delayed the process of feeding the pipes through the tunnel.

Until the situation is evaluated, there’s no indication how long this part of the project might be delayed and what that will mean to overall completion of the work.

Roads around the project ­— Shore Road and New York Avenue — have been reopened pending a resolution of the problem.