Northern State Parkway $15.7M Project Is Complete

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — The $15.7 million project on the Northern State Parkway interchange at Route 231 is finished at last, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced Wednesday, according to a press release from the New York State Department of Transportation. The project saw major reconstruction meant to ease travel and boost safety along the heavily-traveled commuter artery on Long Island.

The completed modernization of the parkway's interchange with State Route 231 (Deer Park Road) in the Town of Huntington will also optimize traffic flow and improve access from the parkway to a pivotal roadway for residents and businesses in western Suffolk County.

The parkway is widely used by drivers headed to LaGuardia Airport and New York City and provides access to many of Long Island's popular state parks and shopping areas.

"The Northern State Parkway is a critically important roadway for travelers headed to and from Long Island, and this investment will make it easier for motorists to get where they need to go safely and with minimum delays," Cuomo said. "The improvements will help keep people and commerce on the move, facilitating economic growth and benefiting New Yorkers for decades to come."

State Route 231 provides links to the lively downtowns of Huntington, Greenlawn, East Northport, Commack, and Northport on the North Shore; and Deer Park (the home of the Tanger Outlets), North Babylon, West Islip, and Babylon on the South Shore. Improvements made as part of the project include:

• A new ramp from southbound Route 231 to eastbound Northern State Parkway, which eliminated the left turn entrance.
• A longer exit ramp from eastbound Northern State Parkway to southbound Route 231.
• The extension and widening of the exit ramp from eastbound Northern State Parkway to northbound Route 231 to provide an extra lane of traffic, a raised median on Deforest Road, and a right turn only lane onto Route 231.
• A longer deceleration lane from westbound Northern State Parkway to northbound Route 231 and County Route 35.
• An extended acceleration lane from southbound Route 231 to westbound Northern State Parkway.
• A raised center median on Route 231 with reconfigured traffic signals.
• New right turning lanes for southbound and northbound Route 231 to eastbound Northern State Parkway.
• New sidewalks with enhanced pedestrian signals and ramps.

All expansion work was done within the existing right-of-way and with minimal interruptions to daily traffic. The existing tree-lined shoulders were enhanced with more than 300 trees and over 6600 shrubs to buffer the view from neighboring residences and maintain the general aesthetic of this Robert Moses-era parkway. All the plant species were native, low maintenance, and able to naturalize into the parkway landscape.

"These projects will enhance safety and create an easier drive for thousands of motorists on one of Long Island's most heavily traveled roadways," Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said.

The Northern State Parkway makeover has been in the works since spring 2018. The project was supposed to be finished in early 2019, though the wait is officially over.

"The completion of this critical infrastructure project will go a long way in keeping our residents safe and modernizing our roadways," Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said.