Route 25 Corridor Roadwork Starts This Week
By Hank Russell
Governor Kathy Hochul announced on April 6 that roadwork projects on Long Island have either begun or will begin soon or later this year. This entails paving and pothole repairs.
The governor’s announcement comes as statewide asphalt plants come online, with paving season beginning in most regions of New York. On Long Island, work will begin on a $58.8 million investment to improve its transportation network with new pavement, curb ramps, turning lanes and other features introduced to critical roadways, including the Northern State Parkway, Nassau Expressway, Veterans Memorial Highway, Hempstead Turnpike, Middle Country Road and Sunrise Highway’s service roads.
The priority location for this week’s pothole filling push includes Route 25 (Middle Country Road) between Route 347 (Nesconset Highway) and County Road 83 (North Ocean Avenue) in the Towns of Brookhaven and Smithtown.
This push to get this section of road done was made by Suffolk County Legislator Nick Caracappa (C-Centereach). As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Caracappa held a press conference in February calling for Hochul to fix the potholes on the Route 25 corridor, noting the dangers that drivers face. The Brookhaven Messenger later reported that the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT) has expedited the “NY-25 Asphalt Pavement Resurfacing to NY-347 to Adirondack Drive” project.
In addition, Hochul announced other Long Island projects, which include:
- An $18.5 million project to repave 50 lane miles on the Northern State Parkway in Nassau and Suffolk Counties has begun. Resurfacing the parkway’s eastbound direction will begin at the Wantagh State Parkway interchange (Exit 33) in the Village of Westbury and continue eastward to the New York Avenue overpass near Exit 40 in the Town of Huntington. The westbound lanes were completed last fall. When this section is completed in the summer, it will mark the final phase of a five-year effort to renew the parkway’s riding surface with previous sections being completed in 2020, 2023, and 2024.
- A $13.8 million project to resurface approximately 36 lane miles of State Route 24 (Hempstead Turnpike/Fulton Avenue) and State Route 102 (Front Street) in and around the Village of Hempstead, which is one of the most densely populated areas of Long Island and is a major economic and transportation hub. Work is planned at the following locations: State Route 24 between Munson Avenue and North Franklin Street; State Route 24 between Hendrickson Avenue and the Meadowbrook State Parkway; and State Route 102 from William Street eastward to State Route 24.
- An $8.8 million pavement renewal project that’s now getting started that will rehabilitate 27 lane miles of roadway and upgrade approximately 100 sidewalk ramps at the following locations: Nassau Expressway (State Route 878) between Burnside Avenue and the Atlantic Beach Bridge toll booth in the Town of Hempstead, Nassau County; and Veterans Memorial Highway (State Route 454) between State Route 111 and the Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495) North Service Road in the Town of Islip, Suffolk County.
- Construction is resuming on a $17.7 million project that began last fall to resurface 61 lane miles of pavement and upgrade more than 180 sidewalk ramps in Suffolk County along key sections of the Sunrise Highway (State Route 27) Service Roads and State Route 25. Last fall, pavement resurfacing was completed in both directions of the Sunrise Highway Service Roads between Manor Lane and Brentwood Road in the Town of Islip.
Major construction is scheduled for completion later this year at the following locations:
- State Route 25 (Middle Country Road) from State Route 25A to Splish Splash Drive in the Town of Riverhead.
- Sunrise Highway South Service Road from Montauk Highway (County Route 85) to Nicolls Road (County Route 97) in the Town of Islip.
- Sunrise Highway North Service Road from Nicolls Road (County Route 97) to Pond Road in the Town of Islip.
“I know where each and every pothole is hiding on the state highway system, and I have bad news for these public nuisances: Your days are numbered,” Hochul said. “We’ve had an unforgiving winter this year in New York, and the frigid cold and heavy snowfall can take a toll on our roads. That’s why we are stepping up with an unprecedented state effort to repave hundreds of miles of roadway and fill hundreds of thousands of potholes in the next few weeks alone. Our outstanding DOT and Thruway crews will not rest until every pothole in this state has been repaired.”
New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “Our crews have worked tirelessly this winter keeping our roads clear for New Yorkers during a brutally cold, snow and ice-filled winter. Now, as the weather transitions, we are moving from fighting snow and ice to carrying out one of the most robust construction programs in recent memory — anchored by record infrastructure and paving investments from Governor Hochul. Our forces are ready to kick construction into high gear in the coming months, with thousands of miles of smoother rides ahead for people in every region of the state.”