Presenting the Nassau Expressway fix

Two schools of thought fuel support or opposition to the nearly $100 million proposed overhaul by the New York State Department of Transportation of less than a mile stretch of the Nassau Expressway between Burnside Avenue and Rockaway Turnpike.

Some residents and government officials believe it should be done to help ensure community safety as the roadway known as state Route 878 is an evacuation route and it could ease the traffic burden, while others say it’s not accomplishing enough based on its price tag.

Representatives from the Department of Transportation spoke with residents and local elected officials at public informational meeting in the cafeteria at Lawrence High School on June 22. The DOT is also collecting public comments until July 24.

Martin and Judy Schaffer have lived in Atlantic Beach for 19 years, and believe the project must done. “We need to get off the island and we can’t,” Martin said, referring to how much traffic there is both daily and when the expressway is used as an evacuation route before an emergency such as a hurricane. DOT officials said that 57,000 vehicles transverse the roadway daily. It is considered the most used state road in the nation.

“We can’t go through Long Beach, this is our only way out,” said Judy, who formed a Greek chorus with her husband about why this project should be completed.

State Sen. Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Beach) also supports the work, which includes raising less than .6 miles of road above what is called the 100-year base flood elevation; repaving and installing improved drainage, creating turning lanes to alleviate the heavy traffic flow and a bicycle and pedestrian path.

“Absolutely the scope of this project will help by adding lanes and making improvements, it will be a major improvement for that area,” Kaminsky said.

The proposed work stretches from Burnside Avenue on the expressway to a portion of Rockaway Turnpike, a .57-mile section, according to the DOT. The primary intersections in this area are at Peninsula and Bay boulevards.

County Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence) said that the DOT is still not doing what they need to do. “It will help a great deal on water-related issues, but we still need an elevated bypass and get traffic off the commercial strip or it still will be a traffic nightmare,” he said.

Living in the Cedar Bay Park development in Cedarhurst since 1990 has given Dr. Tamara Carmel-Silver many years to view the problem. “You don’t have to drive to JFK Airport or go to Atlantic Beach to see the issue,” she said, after viewing the DOT presentation. “No Brookville Boulevard [work] is included and you can’t turn left off Brookville. I think it’s a waste of money.” She added she will be submitting her opinion.

Lifelong Inwood resident Roy Meserole was writing on the public comment form. He noted the “fleet of trucks” leaving and arriving at Sanitary District 1 on Bay Boulevard that contribute to the traffic volume. “[The DOT] has an impossible task to improve traffic,” he said. “The turning lane by Bay Boulevard and Rockaway Turnpike could help.”

DOT plans on finalizing the preliminary design and approval work by the fall. Between fall 2017 and next spring the design-build team will organize the needed equipment and manpower, and construction is projected to begin next summer with the project completed by late 2019. Officials said that during construction two lanes will be open during peak traffic times.

Comments can be submitted to (516) 952-6929, r10-rpic@dot.ny.gov or Nassau Expressway (NY 878) Design Team, NYSDOT Region 10, 250 Veterans Memorial Highway, Hauppauge, NY 11788. To view the proposed project, go to www.dot.ny.gov/regional-offices/region10/projects/ny878-nassau-expy

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