Gas Lines Continue Through Weekend; Relief on the Way But Could Be Days

Superstorm Sandy may have left the area but the lingering effects haven't abated as residents lined up to get gas over the weekend almost immediately after deliveries were made.

The line at the Mobil gas station in Mt. Sinai stretched down Crystal Brook Hollow Road to Regent Place, a distance of about 3/4 of a mile. There, one resident argued with police about cutting the line to get gas for generators ahead of those filling up their cars, some waiting hours to get gas, twice in one morning.

One Mt. Sinai resident told Patch that she was on line for an hour and a half earlier in the morning on Saturday only to immediately come back with a second car for a family members, a designated gas line waiter.

Over in Port Jefferson Station, the line to get gas at Hess on Route 112 wrapped around to Route 347 heading east. Post Office vans waiting in the queue along with cars and delivery trucks.

At both locations police were on hand to direct traffic and keep control.

On Sunday, lines continued in Port Jefferson Station and on Main Street in Port Jefferson village where the USA gas station line stretched around to Liberty Avenue all the way up to the high school at Old Post Road.

Long gas lines will be a Long Island fixture for the foreseeable future.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said fuel shortages will continue into next week, but said more supply is flowing and expects the gas crunch to abate by the weekend.

At a press conference on Friday, Cuomo said that the government is speeding up the process to get gas out to where it's needed on Long Island, including the opening up of important points of delivery.

One recently opened terminal is in Port Jefferson Harbor — according to multiple reports, including this article in Newsday.

According to village officials, the Tosco pipeline on Beach Street in Port Jefferson takes oil barges and tankers and the gas goes into holding tanks at Belle Meade Road, located in East Setauket. According to Find The Data website, the pipeline is owned by Northville Industries and the storage tanks have a total capacity 2.5 million barrels.

A representative at Northville could not be reached for comment at the time of the publication of this article.