A little landscaping and a little wiring will put the final touches on Long Island's largest roadway project in recent years, the $60 million revamping of the Northern State Parkway and Route 110 in Huntington, state transportation officials said.

The project, which started in 2011, was designed to improve traffic flow and safety at an interchange used by more than 120,000 motorists each day.

The Northern State Parkway bridge over Route 110 was replaced, the ramps reconfigured, sidewalks installed along Route 110, new drainage systems put in, vertical clearance improved for trucks going under the bridge, and a third travel lane added in both directions on Route 110.

"This award-winning project has transformed a major interchange, relieved a traffic bottleneck and created an efficient, state-of-the-art highway complex that serves one of Long Island's largest and most vital business districts," said state Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald in a statement.

Crews still have to put in wiring for the INFORM traffic cameras and also finish landscaping, work expected to be done within two weeks, state officials said.

That finish line later this month will put the completion by construction contractor Grace Industries of Plainview about nine months ahead of schedule. The targeted finish date had been August 2014.

The project has been nominated for a 2014 American Council of Engineering Companies of New York gold award in the transportation category, state officials said. In May, the Long Island branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers named the Route 110-NSP interchange "project of the year" among large construction ventures.

During the past two years, Route 110 was often shut down overnight as crews worked, but the parkway remained open to minimize the impact on traffic. A temporary bridge had been installed over Route 110, and as the old bridge was demolished, the granite was recycled into the new one to retain the classic parkway features developed under Robert Moses.

State officials said the revamped interchange complements two other Route 110 projects in Huntington. One is the Route 110 safety and mobility improvement project underway between the Long Island Expressway and Arlington Road and between Fletcher Place and Amityville Road. The other was the Route 110-LIE bridge reconstruction project that was completed in 2011.

Errick Allen not guilty … Water rates rise … Woman boxer back in the ring Credit: Newsday

Updated now NYPD officer's wake today ... Mets' home opener today ... Yanks win opener ... Feed Me: Wood-fired pizza

Errick Allen not guilty … Water rates rise … Woman boxer back in the ring Credit: Newsday

Updated now NYPD officer's wake today ... Mets' home opener today ... Yanks win opener ... Feed Me: Wood-fired pizza

Latest videos

Newsday LogoSUBSCRIBEUnlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 5 months
ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME