HEATHER N. GRIMMER/CONTRIBUTOR - Barricades close off LaGrange Street at South Transit Street so the site can be remediated by NYSEG. The $11 million project may take up to a year.

LaGrange Street between Saxton and South Transit streets will be closed for as much as a year for remediation of contaminated soil below the street surface.

New York State Electric & Gas will begin excavation of the street within the next week to remove coal tar from beneath the street and NYSEG substation, according to the Department of Environmental Conservation.

The closure will affect ingress and egress from the Crosby's Mobil station situated between LaGrange and Genesee streets, as the LaGrange entrance/exit will not be available. The Crosby's is also host to Tim Hortons Cafe & Bake Shop with a drive through that begins on the LaGrange side of the store.

Traffic near the site is already prone to backing up — with the LaGrange entrance available — so the removal of that entrance is likely to cause traffic snarls on South Transit Street, especially during peak business times for the drive through.

COURTESY OF DEC - This map shows the area affected by the coal tar. NYSEG will spend up to a year remediating LaGrange Street of the potential carcinogens.

According to a 2009 report by the DEC, the NYSEG substation site was previously the location of a manufactured gas plant, which made a combustible gas from coal and petroleum products that was provided to homes, businesses and industries, much the way natural gas is used today. It is believed that the gas plant at this site started operating in 1851 and was completely shut down by 1927.

Coal tar and coal tar-contaminated soils were observed in soil borings on the original MGP site. Contamination in the soil has migrated a short distance north of the site, including onto the Crosby's/Tim Hortons' parking lot, according to a map drawn up by the DEC (at right). Coal tar also appears to have moved down through soil into the underlying bedrock. The tar has moved laterally, through the bedrock toward the canal, where it can be seen on the canal wall. Groundwater in close proximity to the coal tar does contain site related contamination, but these impacts do not extend far beyond the tar. Sediment near the tar seeps also contains site related contaminants, but these impacts do not extend far beyond the area of the seeps.

In 2009 the expected cost of the cleanup was estimated at $11 million, which is to be picked up by NYSEG.

HEATHER N. GRIMMER/CONTRIBUTOR - LaGrange Street is closed from Saxton Street to South Transit Street for as much as a year. The closure is likely to cause traffic problems due to the removal of one of the entrances to the Mobil/Crosby's/Tim Hortons on South Transit Street.

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