Order unanimously affirmed with costs. Memorandum: On May 25, 1981, plaintiff Catherine Ann Romano lost control of her automobile while driving on St. Paul Boulevard, Irondequoit, New York. At the scene of the accident, defendant Rochester Gas Electric Corporation (RGE) maintained three shutoff valves, which were imbedded in the roadway and which were covered by steel plates. At the time of the accident, the roadway was in poor condition, and the plates covering RGE's valves were in depressions below the roadway. In denying RGE's motion for summary judgment, Special Term properly found a question of fact whether RGE had constructive notice of the condition of the area around its valves. The condition had existed for at least a year prior to the accident and RGE's maintenance and inspection procedures were allegedly deficient under applicable Public Service Commission regulations.

We also reject RGE's contention that it had no duty to ensure that its valve covers were even with the surrounding pavement. As a utility making special use of a public way, RGE had a duty to use reasonable care to prevent its use from adversely affecting the public road (see, D'Ambrosio v. City of New York, 55 N.Y.2d 454, 462-463; Lane v. Epstein's Edco Process Dry Cleaners Co., 11 N.Y.2d 255, 257-258; Mahar v. City of Albany, 303 N.Y. 825; Filsno v. City of Rochester, 10 A.D.2d 663; Weiser v. City of New York, 5 A.D.2d 702, affd 7 N.Y.2d 811). This duty includes ensuring that the valves and valve covers did not contribute to a dangerous condition in the road as well as keeping the valves and covers themselves in good condition.