Expect 'gridlocks like we've never seen' Monday if strike continues
Expect gridlock traffic on the westbound Long Island Expressway Monday if the strike lingers, expert says. Credit: Newsday / Howard Schnapp
Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast, said it's difficult to determine how much of Saturday's traffic was impacted by the LIRR strike.
What's more clear, he said, is that Monday's commute will be drastically worse if the strike continues. Even if a fraction of the weekday ridership of 270,000 decides to take the trek on the Long Island Expressway, experts said it’s likely the commute will slow to a crawl. The LIRR says its contingency plans would only handle about 13,000 people.
“I think gridlocks like we’ve never seen before will happen,” Sinclair said.
The New York State Department of Transportation is taking steps to limit disruptions to traffic, including positioning tow trucks at strategic locations on Long Island, deploying workers to remove debris and suspending non-emergency construction, said Stephen Canzoneri, an agency spokesman.
Kelly McGuinness, director of the Sam Schwartz Transportation Research Program at the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, said an extension of the strike into Monday will lead to crowded subways and bumper-to-bumper traffic.
“It’s going to swell the LIE,” McGuinness said.
