Press Conference Held To Discuss Oakdale Merge On Sunrise Highway

Great River, NY — A press conference held by Long Island Contractors Association, Inc. addressed the issue of the traffic bottleneck on Sunrise Highway eastbound at what has come to be called "the Oakdale merge." Elected officials such as Islip Town Supervisor Angie Carpenter, State Senator Phil Boyle, Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino and others attended the conference held at Bubbles Falls near the convergence of Montauk Highway and Sunrise Highway in Great River. Representatives from groups such as Save The Great South Bay, the Sayville Chamber of Commerce and local emergency responders were also on hand to discuss the initiative to get state funding to address the issue of the rush hour backup that locals have complained about for years.

Legislators spoke at and expressed a need for the Department of Transportation (DoT) to address the issue. Assemblyman Andrew R. Garbarino said "The Oakdale merge has been like this since I was a kid. It's only gotten worse. We need a five-year capital plan."

A public hearing was held in 2018 in Oakdale in advance of a study by the DoT, where many of the same issues and concerns were raised.

Frank Piccininni, a trustee of Save the Great South Bay was on hand to address the possible environmental impacts of any solution. "It's a quality of life issue but it's also an environmental issue. It should be fixed but any fix that is done should be done with due caution" to the environmental importance of the surrounding Connetquot State Park lands, and include restoration and not just a minimization of the environmental impact.