Smith Point Bridge vehicle weight restriction lifted but still limited to single-lane crossings, Suffolk officials say

A weight restriction on the deteriorating two-lane Smith Point Bridge has been lifted, but traffic will remain limited to single-lane crossings, Suffolk County officials announced at a news conference Monday.

Officials last week had placed a 3-ton weight limit on truck traffic across the drawbridge, which connects Shirley to the eastern end of Fire Island over Narrow Bay. Vehicles up to 15 tons once again will be allowed to cross the bridge after a state Department of Transportation inspection.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine on Monday signed an executive order to expeditiously make improvements to the bridge — a renewal from the order he signed last week, which was in effect for five days.

Romaine said the bridge will be "totally usable" within a few months, as work will start immediately and staff will be working in double shifts.

"We will be installing ... steel cable, among many other things, to strengthen this bridge," he said.

Alexander Prego, the county Department of Public Works' chief engineer, said the bridge was built in 1959 with reinforced concrete beams — beams with steel cables under tension and then poured over with concrete.

"Some of those cables now, over the last 60 years, have been exposed and they're starting to fail," Prego said. The bridge, he said, has "passed the end of its usable life."

Work on building a new bridge will begin in 2026, officials said.

The weight restriction imposed last week had limited emergency service vehicles such as fire engines, as well as delivery trucks, from crossing the bridge, Romaine said.

The bridge leads from Shirley to Smith Point County Park, the most heavily visited park in the county, officials said. Up to 3,000 vehicles cross the bridge on a single day during the summer months, as well as up to 350 campers.

"In the offseason, lots of work needs to be done to this facility. ... That's when all the heavy work gets done," said county Legis. James F. Mazzarella (R-Moriches).

Camping at the park will remain open while the bridge work is being done.

A replacement for the bridge was supposed to be completed last year, but the work was delayed, county Public Works Commissioner Charles Bartha previously told Newsday, due to environmental issues related to the nearby Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge and haggling over designs. The deadline to open a new fixed-span bridge has been moved to 2029.

Romaine said the state DOT inspected the bridge on Nov. 15 and notified his office of structural issues.

In addition to limiting overweight vehicles and reducing traffic to one lane, traffic lights were installed to ensure only one car at a time crossed the bridge.

Romaine said there is no projected cost for the renovations at this time.

"Cost is our secondary concern. Safety is our primary concern," he said.