Previously Published in The Messenger
By Matt Meduri
The paralyzing cold and record-level accumulations this winter have been massive adjustments from several milder seasons.
What’s hurt more than frozen hands, back-breaking shoveling, and limited hours of sunlight are the roads.
Middle Country Road (NY-25) has been described as a “war zone” by communities from Huntington, through Smithtown, and out to the eastern reaches of Brookhaven after the peak of plowing season has left one of the busiest and most dangerous routes on Long Island in the worst shape in years.
Suffolk County Legislators Nick Caracappa (C-Selden) and Sal Formica (R-Commack) recently joined with Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches) and State officials to call on accelerated attention to the roads, especially as Suffolk looks to continue infrastructure improvements, such as sewers from Lake Grove to Coram and a cloverleaf interchange at Nicolls Highway (CR-97) and the Smithtown Bypass (NY-347).
Senator Dean Murray (R-East Patchogue) and Assemblyman Doug Smith (R-Holbrook), however, have announced that efforts have paid off, as the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has expedited the “NY-25 Asphalt Pavement Resurfacing to NY-347 to Adirondack Drive” project.
“Prior to the multiple snowstorms that hit the area this winter, the DOT agreed to put this project into the five-year highway/bridge plan,” Murray said in a statement. “As the road conditions continued to deteriorate, Assemblyman Smith and I ramped up our discussion with NYS-DOT Region 10 Director Richard Causin, who agreed to move the project up by two years to start in 2028.”
Murray added that Causin “recognized the urgency” and moved the timeline for bidding on the project to December 2026. The winning bidder will take over the maintenance of the roadway next winter while also “allowing them to start some of the non-paving prep work early, so they will be able to start the actual paving work when the ‘paving season’ starts in late spring 2027.”
Additionally, Causin has committed about $300,000 under an existing “when and where” contract, to use a contractor that will “fill potholes and perform maintenance duties on five particularly bad portions of NY-25, between NY-347 and Adirondack Drive,” according to Murray.
The Five Areas
The five sections of NY-25 to receive expedited attention include the stretch between Adirondack Drive and Dare Drive in Selden, North Evergreen to Boyle Road in Selden, Marshall Drive to Highview Drive on the Selden/Centereach line, Crown Acres Road to Hammond Lane in Centereach, and CR-97 to Paula Drive on the Selden/Centereach border.
The remaining areas that are not being handled by the contractor will be maintained and handled in-house by NYS-DOT personnel. The DOT reminds residents to call 1-800-POTHOLE (768-4653) to report potholes when they encounter them.
“I applaud and appreciate Director Causin’s willingness to not only listen, but to work with us to find solutions. To get a major project such as this into the five-year plan and then have it moved up multiple times to its earliest possible timeline is certainly no easy feat,” said Senator Murray in a statement. “This is what happens when we have residents, community leaders, first responders, and elected officials on all levels working together.”
Assemblyman Smith echoed these sentiments, saying, “I appreciate NYS-DOT and, in particular, Director Causin, for responding to local concerns and advancing the timeline for paving on Middle Country Road. This work will help address the deteriorating conditions and improve safety for drivers, families, and first responders who all use this roadway daily.”
According to CBS News, NY-25 handles nearly 50,000 vehicles per day in the most congested segments, which are often found in the Middle Country region, throughout the Town of Smithtown, and well into Huntington. Selden and Centereach tend to carry the most traffic, and those sections contribute to NY-25’s reputation as one of the most dangerous roadways in the state.
Ubiquitous traffic lights, turn-in parking for endless strip malls, speeding, and significant residential and commercial growth have made congestion hit peak levels and the Centereach-Selden area as one of the hotspots for left-turn accidents and pedestrian collisions.
What They’re Saying
Leah Fitzpatrick, President of the Centereach Civic Association, said the move couldn’t come “soon enough.”
“This is the worst NY-25 has ever been,” Fitzpatrick, a lifelong Middle Country resident, told The Messenger. “I drive up and down the road multiple times a day.”
Fitzpatrick said that an elderly neighbor just recently blew out his tire on NY-25 due to the potholes.
“It was very difficult for him to get the tire changed and have someone come help him. Big inconvenience,” said Fitzpatrick.
Many have called for New York State to kick in some reimbursements for vehicle repairs due to their neglect of the roads.
“I would love to see that happen. Do you think they’re going to?”
Fitzpatrick added that avoiding the potholes comes down to “knowing where to swerve,” but taking care to not collide with oncoming traffic, particularly in the abundance of left-turning lanes that line the corridor.
Legislator Nick Caracappa, who led the charge last month in getting NYSDOT’s ear on this, is thankful the project is getting done, regardless of who gets the credit.
“It’s been a team effort – Town, County, State,” Caracappa, a born-and-raised Selden resident, told The Messenger. “NY-25 has been in this kind of shape for the last five or six years, but the fact remains that this corridor has landed on New York State’s top ten most dangerous or deadly roadways for the past decade. That speaks volumes itself. If they’re not following their own data, there’s something missing from this equation.”
Caracappa added that the decrepit roads and the consistent lack of attention has been only another reason more and more families decide to leave the Empire State.