Let’s fix the Nassau Expressway, once and for all

Those who have read articles I’ve previously written, in this publication and elsewhere, will be familiar with my oft-repeated complaints about the chronic neglect of our infrastructure by state officials.

Everyone on the South Shore in western Nassau County is familiar with the hot mess called the Nassau Expressway, or State Route 878. The road was planned in the 1950s, and was to run from the Atlantic Beach Bridge well into Queens. The state acquired all the needed rights of way by condemnation in the 1960s. All that needed to be done was to build the road as planned. But for a variety of reasons, all of which are no longer relevant, only portions of it were built.

Most critically, for our area, the southern (Nassau County) portion of the roadway runs only from the Atlantic Beach Bridge to Rockaway Boulevard. There, all the traffic heading to Manhattan and Queens spills onto Rockaway and runs through a commercial strip, together with all the traffic of people using the local stores, before continuing alongside Kennedy airport.

It’s on the commercial strip that the most damage is done. Rockaway Boulevard simply can’t handle the volume of traffic that builds up on it, resulting in monstrous jams headed toward Manhattan and Queens in the morning, and back the other way during the evening rush. I have personally experienced delays that can run to over an hour of extra time. I’ve even seen evening traffic backed up all the way to the Van Wyck Expressway.

This isn’t just a problem of inconvenience and delay; it is a severe safety issue. Rockaway Boulevard has been designated a primary emergency evacuation route, but anyone who’s familiar with the road knows that it would be impossible to evacuate large numbers of additional vehicles on a road that is overburdened as is. The problem isn’t just the theoretical one of a mass evacuation. Everyday first responders, such as police and firefighters, are now hindered from going where they need to go in a timely fashion. Imagine someone in an ambulance needing to get to a hospital in a hurry during one of the expressway’s colossal traffic jams. It isn’t a pretty thought.

Perhaps the worst part of this situation is that it is not, by any means, hopeless. The problem was created in Albany, and that’s where a solution is to be found. A few years ago, the state did make a halfhearted attempt to alleviate our misery by rebuilding the portion of Route 878 from Burnside Avenue to Rockaway Boulevard. That fixed the problem of flooding at the junction of the highway and Rockaway that occurred a few times a year. It did nothing, however, to fix the larger problem, despite assurances by state representatives that it would.

The state has repeatedly pushed the plans to complete the road into the indefinite future. This is an insult to all who live in the Five Towns, on the Long Beach barrier island as well as in part of the Rockaways. These residents deserve to have their needs served just as much as those in other parts of the state.

Since the necessary land is already owned by the state, what remains is the political decision to allocate highway money to this crucial roadway. I would point out that there is a vast discrepancy between tax revenue flowing to the state from Long Island residents and the amount that returns in the form of investment and services.

As a county legislator, I have, and will continue to call on state officials to properly address this issue once and for all. For those who want to help, please consider writing to your local state representatives and demanding that they finally do the right thing by the residents of southwestern Nassau County. If you don’t know where to write, please contact my office, and we will happily provide the proper information.

Howard Kopel represents Nassau County’s 7th Legislative District, and is the Legislature’s presiding officer.