Latest Smith Point Bridge weight limit comes after years of waiting for new span

The announcement over the weekend that the weight limit on the Smith Point Bridge had been lowered is the latest chapter in the span’s demise, as construction on a new bridge is set to begin in 2026.

On Sunday, Suffolk County announced that a 3-ton weight limit on trucks using the bridge in Shirley was imposed following a state inspection. Suffolk County spokesman Michael Martino said in an email Monday that the state Department of Transportation informed the county of the new limit on Saturday.

State DOT data on weight restrictions for bridges, last updated in 2022, listed a 15-ton weight restriction on the drawbridge over Narrow Bay. Newsday previously reported that weight restrictions had been imposed in the past, including a 10-ton weight limit in 2009. An Oct. 27, 2024, state inspection rated the bridge as “poor.”

The state uses federal ratings to assess the condition of bridges, according to the DOT website.

“The fact that a bridge is in poor condition does not imply that it is unsafe or likely to collapse,” according to the DOT website. Weight limits are posted to bridges rated as “poor,” and bridges with that rating generally require “significant maintenance and repair to stay in service,” but unsafe bridges are closed to traffic, according to the website.

The Smith Point Bridge, which opened in 1959, is supposed to remain in service until the new bridge opens, with an expected completion in 2029, according to the county website. The project has gone through years of discussion and delays.

In 2019, then-County Executive Steve Bellone said in a news release that the project was waiting on approval from DOT and construction could begin in 2021 and be finished by 2024. At that time, the county said in the news release that the bridge was facing deterioration that would bring increasing weight restrictions “within the next several years to allow only passenger cars, with service and delivery trucks being banned from crossing completely.”

The new 1,800-foot-long fixed-span bridge will be high enough — 55-foot clearance — that boats can pass under it, eliminating the need for a drawbridge with mechanical parts. The county has said the existing mechanical drawbridge was made with technology that is now obsolete. The new bridge also will have pedestrian and bicycle pathways.

The bridge is the sole access point to Smith Point Park, which sees about 1 million visitors annually and has the most popular county-owned beach, according to the county website. The span connects Shirley to the eastern end of Fire Island via the William Floyd Parkway.

The design of the bridge has been the subject of controversy over the years. In 2016, Newsday reported that a hearing on the proposal brought criticism over its height as being too difficult for seniors and cyclists.