Governor announces $130 million fix for Nassau Expressway

Cuomo, DOT commissioner unveil plan in Lawrence

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Familiarity with the roads around Southeast Queens and the Five Towns most likely helped Gov. Andrew Cuomo 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,” said Cuomo, whose line created laughter among the many residents of the South Shore who attended the press conference at the Five Towns Community Center on Sunday in Lawrence.

“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.”

The governor, along with New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Matthew Driscoll and Kaminsky rolled out a $130 million plan to repair the Nassau Expressway, which is also known as state road 878. It includes elevating the roadway, a new multi-use pedestrian path, state-of-the-art drainage systems, and traffic signals that will be synced to ensure smoother vehicle movement, improved turning lanes and upgrade to access the businesses along the central corridor.

“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 roadway after Hurricane Sandy. Driscoll said that the work will be consolidated under Design Build and it will be done “on time and on budget.”

Kaminsky noted Cuomo’s commitment to the South Shore after Sandy in the Five Towns and Long Beach. “He has shown a fierce dedication to the South Shore and the middle class,” Kaminsky said.

A more comprehensive story will be in the March 2 Nassau Herald.