Resurfacing of Suffolk, Nassau roads to get underway with $55.8M price tag

Smoother commutes could be on the horizon for Long Islanders as state highway crews launch an aggressive spring cleanup effort to fill potholes and resurface roads after a harsh winter.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state will invest $58.8 million in Nassau and Suffolk counties to repave roads, fill potholes and improve curb and sidewalk ramps. 

The effort includes projects on the Northern State Parkway, Hempstead Turnpike, Nassau Expressway, Veterans Memorial Highway, Sunrise Highway service roads and Route 25 that will begin “immediately,” according to Gordon Tepper, a spokesman for Hochul's office.

They are the first batch of a larger, $107 million commitment to repave approximately 225 lane miles of state roads on Long Island. Additional projects are expected to be announced later this year, officials said. 

The governor's office did not provide specific timelines, work hours or planned closures.

Winter weather wreaked havoc on Long Island roads with heavy snow, frequent plowing and freeze-thaw cycles that cracked pavement and carved potholes, some of them massive.

“This has been one of the coldest, most unforgiving winters in New York in recent memory, but the great news is that paving season is finally here and we will be renewing thousands of miles of roads across New York,” Hochul said in a statement.

Planned projects include an $18.5 million, 50-mile repaving initiative on the Northern State Parkway from Exit 33 in Westbury to Exit 40 in Huntington. State officials said the project is the last of a five-year initiative to resurface the parkway.

The state is also spending $17.7 million on Suffolk County roads. Much of that expenditure will go to repaving 61 lane-miles and upgrading 180 sidewalk ramps along Sunrise Highway service roads in Islip — from Montauk Highway to Nicolls Road on the south service road and Nicolls Road to Pond Road on the north side — and on Route 25 in Riverhead, from Route 25A to Splish Splash Drive.

Deteriorating conditions on the roughly 3-mile stretch of Middle Country Road in Calverton have drawn concerns from local officials and first responders.

Riverhead Councilman Ken Rothwell, who also volunteers with the Wading River Fire Department, said first responders have had to pull over on the side of the road to take vital signs and perform EKG tests.

“It is so bumpy and choppy that EMTs and paramedics in the back [of an ambulance] cannot get a good EKG reading,” he said in an interview Saturday.

Assemb. Jodi Giglio (R-Baiting Hollow) said the project was originally slated for completion in 2028 but accelerated after hearing from emergency crews and a tough winter.

“When the roads freeze, and then it thaws, and then it freezes again, it’s lifting the roads, making them worse,” Giglio said Saturday. “We had a pretty extreme winter this year, but I’m glad that it brought attention to the need for maintenance.”

Lights and cones were already visible along Route 25 on Friday. Giglio said that the project is expected to start April 16 and be done overnight, so drivers should prepare for road closures. She said she requested overnight construction to avoid interfering with daytime commuter and seasonal tourism traffic along the corridor.

Other projects include a $13.8 million effort to repave 36 lane-miles along Hempstead Turnpike (Route 24) and Front Street (Route 102) in the Village of Hempstead. Specific locations on Hempstead Turnpike include areas between Munson Avenue and North Franklin Street and between Hendrickson Avenue and the Meadowbrook State Parkway. On Front Street, crews will repave from William Street to Route 24, according to the governor’s office.

Another $8.8 million project will repave 27 lane-miles and upgrade 100 sidewalk ramps on Nassau Expressway between Burnside Avenue and the Atlantic Beach Bridge toll booth in Hempstead and on Veterans Memorial Highway between Route 111 and the Long Island Expressway in Islip Town, officials said.

Statewide, Hochul announced a push to fill an estimated 44,000 potholes this week as crews kick off what the governor described as “the most ambitious” road resurfacing program in state history. The $600 million program includes 180 projects totaling nearly 2,150 lane miles across New York State.