$130M roadway overhaul unveiled

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s familiarity with the roads around southeast Queens and the Five Towns may have helped him understand why State Sen. Todd Kaminsky kept bringing up repairing the Nassau Expressway every time the Long Beach Democrat saw the governor.

“Whenever I saw Todd, it was 878, 878, 878. He is like a broken record,” joked Cuomo, whose line was met by laughter from the South Shore residents who attended the news conference at the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence on Feb. 26.

“878 has been a problem for a long, long time,” the governor said. “I’m from Hollis, Queens, and had a good friend from Inwood. I know what it is to drive on Brookville Boulevard … dodge the potholes, think you were going into the marsh.” Cuomo also noted the roadway’s proximity to John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The governor, along with State Department of Transportation Commissioner Matthew Driscoll and Kaminsky rolled out a $130 million plan to overhaul the Nassau Expressway, also known as State route 878. It includes a new multi-use pedestrian path, a state-of-the-art drainage systems, traffic signals synced to ensure smoother vehicle movement, improved and added turning lanes, and a possible retaining wall. The project renovates a less-than-a-mile stretch of road — a portion that officials called a central business corridor — from the intersection of Rockaway Turnpike and Peninsula Boulevard in Lawrence to Burnside Avenue in Inwood.

“We will be creating a community gateway and protecting it from extreme weather,” Driscoll said. “We will keep the disruptions to a minimum so you can get to where you need to go.”

The work is expected to begin six years ahead of an original state DOT capital plan that allocated $61 million to renovate the expressway starting in 2025. Nearly two years ago, about $6 million of that money was used to repair a portion of the road after Hurricane Sandy. Driscoll said that all the work will be consolidated, and will be done “on time and on budget.”Initial planning will begin this month, and construction is scheduled to start in 2019, officials said.

The expressway serves as an access road for motorists from Five Towns, Atlantic Beach, Far Rockaway and Long Beach, and is one of the South Shore’s major evacuation routes for roughly 400,000 residents in case of an emergency such as a hurricane. The immediate area where the work will be done includes a bevy of heavily used shops and restaurants, including the stores and eateries in and around the Bay Harbour Mall.

“As the chief of a local first response agency whose apparatus frequently travels 878, the proposed improvements will provide a safer transport for patients and responders alike,” said Jonathan Kohan of the Atlantic Beach Rescue. “Bottom line, it is a win-win for our community.” 

Kohan also said that creating a more accessible and user-friendly expressway is a “long-time coming,” and he appreciates the persistence of local officials such as Kaminsky, County Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) and former Democratic Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder. “The governor obviously has not forgotten his roots, and it was heartening to see him come to our neighborhood on Sunday to announce this infrastructure investment,” Kohan said, adding that he believes that “the expedited timeline is encouraging and fully achievable.”

Kaminsky said that for many years the disrepair of the expressway represented what government couldn’t accomplish. He pointed to Cuomo’s commitment to the Five Towns and Long Beach after Sandy as examples that this project will get done. “He has shown a fierce dedication to the South Shore and the middle class,” said Kaminsky.

Have an opinion about overhauling the Nassau Expressway? Send your letter to the editor to jbessen@liherald.com.