Rebuilt Ocean Parkway Reopens

Article posted by Barbara Capella Loehr, and written by Andrew Coen.

Six months after being ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, Ocean Parkway was reopened on Thursday.

This grand reopening follows extensive repairs to the roadway that serves as key transportation route to South Shore beaches. 

The $33.2 million Ocean Parkway restoration project began in December and involved replacing five miles of protective sand dunes washed away by the October 29 superstorm.

A two-mile stretch of the parkway destroyed near Gilgo Beach and damaged lanes to the traffic circle in Robert Moses State Park were also rebuilt.

Native vegetation was also replanted, including more than 1.2 million plugs of beach grass. 

A ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the reopening of Ocean Parkway was held on April 25 just East of Tobay Beach in Massapequa.

The 15.5-mile highway provides links to Jones Beach in Wantagh, Tobay Beach, Gilgo Beach and Robert Moses State Park with many commuters also using the roadway as an alternative to the heavily congested Southern State Parkway.

“This is the economic life of the South Shore,” said State Senator Charles Fuschillo, Jr., R-Merrick, during Thursday morning’s ceremony.

“Today we mark a major milestone for Long Island and the South Shore in recovering from Superstorm Sandy,” he said. 

The majority of the Ocean Parkway reconstruction project was funded through the Federal Highway Administration’s Emergency Relief Program. 

“It was critical to restore this link to our world-famous parks and beaches before the Summer tourism season, which'll help boost Long Island as it continues to bounce back from Sandy’s devastating effects,” said New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement.

“This is an important milestone in our recovery efforts, and it's proof we can work together to build back better and stronger than before,” Cuomo added.

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