Southampton Town declared a state of emergency after Thursday night's storm damaged the Sunrise Highway Canal Bridge in Hampton Bays

All westbound lanes on the Sunrise Highway Canal Bridge in Hampton Bays are closed, and traffic is being diverted to the left shoulder.

News 12's Storm Watch Team storm confirms that 2 to 3 inches of rain fell in several areas of eastern Suffolk County.

According to police, a tree came down on the canal bridge Thursday night, and when the DOT arrived, they saw that the bridge was deteriorated from the rainfall and flooding. The bridge was deemed unsafe for travel and was closed immediately.

“They need to structurally shore up the bridge and address the erosion problem, the drainage problem before they open it up because if another storm comes it will erode again,” said Jim Kiernan, chief of Southampton Town Police Department.

The town supervisor declared a state of emergency as of 11:30 a.m. Friday, which allows for resources to be deployed to mitigate the effects of the closure on the public.

In the meantime, drivers are being asked to avoid the area during peak times.

“We’re going to be using drones to tell us where the congestion is and where we can deploy resources to pull traffic through intersections to try to get to keep things flowing," said Kiernan.

The eastbound lanes are open.

In a statement, New York State Department of Transportation spokesperson Stephen Canzoneri said the department "understands the importance of Sunrise Highway to South Fork residents" and "is expediting repairs," noting that the bridge suffered "significant scour and erosion" during Thursday's storm.

“Repairs will begin Saturday morning and are expected to last approximately one week," Canzoneri said. "In the meantime, westbound traffic on Sunrise Highway will be reduced to one lane in the vicinity of the bridge and shifted to the left shoulder. Motorists should also expect intermittent shoulder closures on Canal Road (County Route 39B), in the vicinity of the bridge. The safety of the traveling public is always NYSDOT’s top priority and we will keep the community informed of further developments as we work to fully reopen the bridge.”