New York State Route 135
 New York State Route 135 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NYSDOT | ||||
| Length | 10.66 mi[1] (17.16 km) | |||
| Existed | 1969 (completion date)–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
 Southern Pkwy in Seaford.svg){kind=small} I-495 in Syosset | ||||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Nassau | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
New York State Route 135, known by locals as the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway, is a 10.66-mile (17.16 km) expressway that connects Seaford with Syosset in Nassau County, New York. The highway runs from Merrick Road (former Nassau County Route 27A) in Seaford to New York State Route 25 in Syosset.
The highway, which replaced Nassau County Route 191, first came about in 1953, by engineering pioneer Robert Moses. Proposing a highway to connect Wantagh to Oyster Bay, Moses eventually won the grant to do such, even after opposal from communities along the proposed path. Right-of-way was taken in 1958, and in 1959, construction of the highway began. As time progressed, the expressway changed names in 1967 from the Wantagh–Oyster Bay Expressway to its current name. In 1969, the expressway was completed, but there were still two stubs at each end.
Around 1970, Robert Moses returned his focus to the expressway; this time he proposed an extension from Syosset. This extension would include a long bridge to Rye in Westchester County across the Long Island Sound. The plan got support until it was brought to the federal government, where towns began opposing his plans. In 1973, Governor Nelson Rockefeller stopped the plans, ending the crossing. In 2007, however, a developer proposed building a 16-mile (26 km) tunnel to Rye, and to stop environmental problems with a park above the tunnel approach.
There have also been plans for a southern extension to Jones Beach, but these did not go through. In 1988, a massive crash closed much of the highway, and created congestion for most of Long Island. The highway from there has also been renamed memorially as the Ralph J. Marino Expressway.
Route description
The Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway northbound lanes begins at the onramp from Merrick Road (former Nassau County Route 27A) near the outer limits of downtown Seaford. There is an aging sign at the southern terminus, depicting the highway as "NY 135" and showing the nearest control city as Oyster Bay. The offramp begins at a commercial building and turns to the northeast, heading through some trees. After a short distance, the onramp merges into the northbound lanes of the expressway.[2]
The expressway progresses northward from the onramp, crossing an overpass over Waverly Avenue. From there, the highway passes its first guide sign depicting about Interchange 2 (for New York State Route 27), about a 1/2 mile ahead. The highway from there, upgrades to three lanes in each direction, and the highway continues to the offramp for Interchange 2. From there, the highway then progresses its way northward, and in the middle of the interchange, the first Touring Route 135 northbound shield appears. Trees mainly separate the expressway from the nearby highways and communities. After a short distance, the onramp from NY 27 merges into the northbound lanes, and the highway continues northward.[2]
On the southbound side, across from the onramp, the southbound lanes split for Interchange 2E, set specifically for the eastbound alignment of NY 27. Shortly afterwards the expressway crosses under both directions of NY 27 on separate bridges. After that, Seamans Neck Road becomes the service road to the expressway, running parallel to the east. There is a bridge over Clark Street in the nearby community of Massapequa. At Clark Street, West Seamans Neck Road, the southbound service road, ends. After a short distance, Seamans Neck Road ends at Interchange 3 for New York State Route 105.[2]
After a while, the expressway passes the North Wantagh Park, and interchanges with the Southern State Parkway at Interchange 4. There, the expressway makes a curve to the northeast, crossing over Cordwood Lane on an overpass. The direction of the expressway begins to straighten, until Interchange 5, where it encounters New York State Route 107. Soon after, the expressway comes upon Interchange 6, which is for Boundary Avenue, a connector to the nearby Bethpage State Parkway. From there, the expressway turns to the north. Now paralleling the Bethpage Parkway, NY 135 interchanges with the divided New York State Route 24 (Hempstead Turnpike).[2]
From there, there is an interchange with Powell Avenue, along with Plainview Road, as the expressway enters Bethpage. Nearby, the Bethpage Parkway comes to an end at Plainview Road. From here, the expressway takes on a divided pattern, which was built for the purposes of extending the Bethpage to the Caumsett State Parkway and Caumsett State Park.[3][4][5] Before Interchange 9, however, this reverses, and the lanes of NY 135 comes back together. After interchange 9, which is for Cherry Avenue and Broadway, the expressway enters Old Bethpage.[2]
As the expressway passes through the populated community of Old Bethpage, it encounters Old Country Road at Interchange 10. From there, NY 135 leaves Old Bethpage, and eventually enters Plainview. Seven interchanges north of the Southern State Parkway, NY 135 comes upon the Northern State Parkway. Just after, there is a partial cloverleaf interchange with the Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495) in Locust Grove. The expressway continues its final stretch of highway, heading through Locust Grove. At Interchanges 14 E & W, Route 135 ends, merging into New York State Route 25 (the Jericho Turnpike). A stub built for the possible extension of the expressway sits nearby. All traffic merges onto NY 25 west from there.[2]
Traffic data
The expressway is defined as an principal urban arterial. It is part-concrete paved from the southern end to Exit 7 and part-asphalt from Exit 7 to the northern end. About 11% of the vehicles that travel the highway on average are trucks. The highway is divided into two roadways, with three lanes in each direction (making up the southbound and northbound roadways). The width of the pavement averages 72–74 inches (6.0–6.2 ft) in each direction.[6]
History
County Route 191, the predecessor to the expressway
Before plans of the Wantagh–Oyster Bay Expressway had come about, the current alignment was an uninterrupted local road named Seamans Neck Road (now a service road to the expressway). Seamans Neck Road had originally ran from Merrick Road in Seaford (the current expressway's southern terminus) to Union Avenue in Levittown. The same year that the New York State Department of Public Works had taken the right of way for the new expressway, the Nassau County Department of Public Works signed over 100 county highways around the county. Seamans Neck Road, according to 1959 Master Plan by the public works department, was given the Nassau County Route 191 designation, but only from the Merrick Road terminus to the New York State Route 105 interchange, where both roads would meet the expressway.[7]
With the destruction of the county highway system in Nassau County in 1973, the County Route 191 designation was eventually removed from the Seamans Neck Road alignment.[8]
Early plans and Robert Moses
In 1954, the New York State Department of Public Works, the predecessor to the New York State Department of Transportation, proposed a brand-new six-lane expressway. This expressway was to go from the Wantagh State Parkway in Wantagh to New York State Route 106 in Oyster Bay. Unlike the predecessor plan from 1952, the Western Nassau Expressway, the currently-proposed alignment was to go through a less-densely populated region of Nassau County. This meant that getting the right-of-way acquisition for the expressway would have been easier. The New York State Department of Public Works proposed the alignment with a law.[9]
Beginning at a point on the Wantagh State Parkway in the vicinity of the hamlet of Wantagh, thence running generally through or near the hamlets of Seaford, Bethpage and Plainview to a point on state highway nine thousand twenty-one (NY 106) south of the village of Oyster Bay.
-New York State Department of Public Works[9]
One of the major problems with the proposed alignment of the expressway was that it divided each community that it passed through. This was met by protests from all the communities. To remedy the concerns, the town supervisor of Oyster Bay, Lewis Walters, proposed a new alignment for the expressway. The proposed expressway was to begin at the Ocean Parkway in Tobay Beach, cross South Oyster Bay and enter West Amityville at Clocks Boulevard. From West Amityville, the expressway was to turn to the northeast near the current-day Sunrise Mall, and progress its way through Massapequa and Farmingdale into Bethpage State Park. The highway was to cross a path in Bethpage State Park, using the old right-of-way for the Bethpage State Parkway through the communities of Old Bethpage and Plainview. From there, it would veer to the northwest, approaching and intersecting with the Jericho Turnpike (New York State Route 25) about 0.75-mile (1.21 km) from its current northern terminus. At the Long Island Railroad Port Jefferson Branch, it would follow the originally planned alignment, ending at New York State Route 25A instead of Route 106.[10]
The proposed plan, which was supported by the residents of Oyster Bay, was to take up the acquisition of 185 residential homes, unlike Robert Moses's plan, which asked for 450. However, to much of their dismay, Moses's plan won out.[10]
Construction begins and finishes
As plans continued to construct the expressway, the New York State Department of Public Works acquired the right-of-way in 1958 for the highway (consisting of a part of County Route 191).[7] Construction commenced on the expressway a year later, with the section from Old Country Road (Interchange 10) to Jericho Turnpike (Interchange 14E/W) opening in 1962.[11] Construction continued rapidly, with the section from Old County Road down to the Southern State Parkway (Interchange 4) being completed only a year later.[12][13][14] From there, the construction slowed, with the final piece, from Nassau County Route 27A (Merrick Road) to the Southern State Parkway being completed in the autumn of 1969. The final outcome of the construction was a 10.66 miles (17.16 km) expressway from Seaford to Syosset.[15]
Possible northern and southern extensions
With the mainline construction of the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway completed, Robert Moses turned his eyes onto an extension of the freeway and onto a bridge across the Long Island Sound into Westchester County (in the village of Rye).[16] The crossing would have been connected to the Cross-Westchester Expressway (Interstate 287), which NY 135, the state designation for the Seaford-Oyster Bay, would have been replaced by. The idea, produced by Moses, was to extend the freeway northward past its current terminus, and along its previous right-of-way past New York State Route 106. There was also a marking on the Nassau County Department of Public Works' Master Plan of 1959 to have the expressway follow West Shore Road and Lundlum Avenue in Oyster Bay and up to Bayville. In Bayville, the plan was to create the right-of-way for the new crossing, named the Rye-Oyster Bay Bridge.[17]
Moses brought the proposal to the Nassau-Suffolk Regional Planning Board in 1966 as the final link in a regional beltway of New York City. The plan got support from New York's governor, Nelson Rockefeller. By 1970, when Moses had resigned from his current job in hopes that Governor Rockefeller's promise to get the bridge built by Moses, the plan was supported by the state, which also brought along the proposal for an extension of Interstate 287. However, Moses ran into a problem, as the proposal was brought to the Federal Highway Administration, opposition from both sides of the Long Island Sound began to form. With plans to turn the Oyster Bay area into a bird sanctuary and a protected park, working on the highway became harder, as building on such protected places being against the law. After growing opposition, Governor Rockefeller cancelled the plans for the bridge on June 20, 1973, nine years after the first proposal by Moses.[18]
With the plans for the bridge shelved, the Tri-State Transportation Commission proposed restudying the idea of extending the expressway northward back to its originally-planned northern terminus, the hamlet of Oyster Bay. The commission said the study would be probable, even with the abandonment of working on the NY 135 corridor.[19][20]
With the abandonment of the Oyster Bay-Rye Bridge proposal, the need to extend the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway northward to NY 25A or NY 106 should be restudied.
- Tri-State Transportation Commission - 1973[19]
As for its southern terminus, a proposal for an extension south was revived. When the first proposals came out in 1967, around twenty-five families were relocated so that the right-of-way of 7.3 acres could be produced. By 1975, the Tri-State Transportation Commission proposed a plan to reconstruct the highway back to the originally-planned southern terminus, the Wantagh State Parkway. This would have provided another access to Jones Beach via the Wantagh Parkway. However, the idea went quiet, and was shelved by the New York State Department of Transportation in 1980. The right-of-way for the extension in 1967 was held onto by the state, until 2004, when they sold it to Nassau County. Nassau County plans to build a county recreational trail along that right-of-way.[21]
Reconsidering about the northern extension
In 1990, the Long Island Regional Planning Board came up with a proposed multi-billion dollar plan to expand capacities of state and county highways, along with getting all major roads to "satisfactory" levels by 2010. The proposal also included reorganizing the idea of getting the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway extended back to New York State Route 25A in Oyster Bay, via the right-of-way bought in the 1960s.[22][23] In 2000, a decade later, the New York State Department of Transportation reconsidered the idea, saying it would relieve congestion in the area. They reported that the extension may be done as either a "full-build" expressway or a four-lane arterial boulevard to NY 25A. There are, however, no current plans from NYSDOT to do such.[21]
In 2007, a developer proposed the idea of a tunnel to replace the bridge proposal to cross the Long Island Sound. The tunnel would be 17 miles (27 km) long and running from Bayville to Rye, as the original bridge proposed. To prevent the noticeable tunnel, the developer proposed building a park atop the entrance with ball fields, tennis courts, and several other amenities included.[24][25]
Major expressway accidents
At 9:30 A.M. on May 24, 1988, a tanker truck loaded with as much as 3,000 imperial gallons ([convert: unknown unit]) of propane fuel overturned and exploded into flames along the expressway. This caused major traffic delays and congestion because police had to shut down three of the major transportation routes in the area. Nassau County police ordered the evacuation of 1,000 residents in the immediate area, along with nearby commuter routes, the Sunrise Highway and Long Island Railroad's Montauk Branch. With the possibility of an explosion, emergency personnel could not approach the tanker. Since the fire was close the LIRR station in Seaford, a spokesman said that they had shut all service down from Wantagh to Massapequa. The Long Island Railroad attempted using buses, but with the congestion becoming worse, they routed the buses to Hicksville, where the passengers would take diesel train to Bethpage and nearby Babylon to continue progress eastward.[26]
The Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway was shut down from Merrick Road to the Southern State Parkway. Police reported that the tanker broke a rear axle, and skidded, causing it to overturn. The tank ruptured, starting the blaze. The driver, a middle-aged man from Westbury, escaped with few injuries.[26]
Relations with the history of other highways
Between the Powell Avenue and Broadway-Plainview Road interchanges along the expressway, the highway is divided with a large median. The lane alignment was set up so that the proposed extension of the Bethpage State Parkway would be the median of the highway. The parkway would have followed the highway for a short distance, before turning to the southeast and away from NY 135. This would have been assumed that, by making this possible, the Bethpage Parkway would have to be a four-lane highway, instead of a Super-2 freeway, which never occurred.[21]
Recent history
When the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway was first built, the parkway was designated the Wantagh–Oyster Bay Parkway.[27] This was changed, however, during construction in 1967, to avoid confusion with the Wantagh Parkway and a request from the community of Seaford to popularize their town. There have also been attempts to rename the expressway with dedications to the Presidents of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan.[21] However, in March 2002, the New York State Department officially dedicated the expressway after Ralph J. Marino, a local state senator.[28], that passed away two weeks later.[29]
Exit list
| County | Location | Mile[1] | # | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nassau | Seaford | 0.00 | 1E-W | Merrick Road – Amityville, Wantagh | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 2 |  NY 27 (Sunrise Highway) (Sunrise Highway)
|
Northbound exit only | |||
| 0.80 | 2E-W | NY 27 (Sunrise Highway) – Montauk, New York City
|
LIRR Babylon Branch | ||
| 1.98 | 3 |  NY 105 (Jerusalem Avenue) – Massapequa, North Bellmore
|
Access via Seamans Neck Road northbound | ||
| 2.70 | 4E-W | Southern State Parkway – East Islip, New York City
|
|||
| 3.50 | 5 |  NY 107 (Massapequa-Hicksville Road) – Massapequa, Hicksville
|
|||
| Bethpage | 4.02 | 6 | Boundary Avenue – North Massapequa, Plainedge | ||
| 4.67 | 7E-W |  NY 24 (Hempstead Turnpike) – Farmingdale, Levittown
|
|||
| 5.85 | 8 | Powell Avenue, Plainview Road – Bethpage, Farmingdale, Bethpage State Park | |||
| 6.50 | 9 | Broadway, Plainview Road – Plainview, Bethpage | |||
| Plainview | 7.99 | 10 | Old Country Road – Plainview, Hicksville | ||
| 11 | Wallace Drive – Plainview | Southbound exit only | |||
| 9.45 | 12E-W |  Northern State Parkway – Hauppauge, New York City
|
No access to Northern Pkwy west from NY 135 south | ||
| Syosset | 9.77 | 13E-W |  I-495 (Long Island Expressway) – Riverhead, New York City
|
||
| 10.66 | 14E-W |  NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike) – Woodbury, Jericho
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 14E is unsigned southbound |
See also
References
- ^ a b "Traffic Data Report for 2007" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. July 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-07.
- ^ a b c d e f Overview map of NY 135 (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ Incorporated. Yahoo Maps. 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ Caro, Robert A. (1974). The Power Broker. Vintage Books-Random House.
- ^ "New Highways Across Long Island To Link North and South Shores". New York Times. November 15, 1936.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "History of the Long Island State Parkway System". New York State Department of Transportation. 1985.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Pavement Management — Highway Data Management Systems (2006), Highway Sufficiency Ratings Database, New York State Department of Transportation
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Master Plan for Nassau County". Nassau County Department of Public Works. 1959.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Anderson, Steve (2009). "County Roads on Long Island". Eastern Roads. Retrieved 2009-01-08.
- ^ a b "New Route Urged for Expressway". New York Times. March 12, 1955.
- ^ a b "Expressway Plan Stirs Oyster Bay". New York Times. December 11, 1957.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Regional Highways: Status Report". Tri-State Transportation Commission. 1962.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Barnes Backs Ballard on New Expressway". New York World-Telegraph. July 8, 1965.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Arterial Progress (1959-1965)". Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. 1965.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Transportation 1985: A Regional Plan". Tri-State Transportation Commission. 1966.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Report on the Status of the Federal-Aid Highway Program". Committee on Public Works, U.S. Senate. 1970.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "A Comprehensive Transportation Study for Proposed Bridge Crossings". Creighton, Hamburg, Incorporated. 1971.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Long Island Sound Crossing: Draft Environmental Section 4(f) Statement". Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 1972.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ "Governor To Cease Efforts To Build LI Sound Bridge". New York Times. June 21, 1973.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b Long, Irving (June 21, 1973). "Veto or No, Route 135 Extension Is in Works". The Long Island Press.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Statewide Master Plan for Transportation". New York State Department of Transportation. 1973.
{{cite journal}}:|first=missing|last=(help); Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ a b c d Anderson, Steve (2009). "Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway". Eastern Roads. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ Young, Monte R. (February 22, 1990). "Extension of Three Expressways Urged". Newsday.
- ^ Leavens, Peter Austin (March 25, 1990). "Route 135: Dead End at Both Ends". New York Times.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Clary, Greg (November 21, 2007). "Sound Tunnel Would Link Rye, Long Island". The Journal News.
- ^ Enriquez, Susana (January 24, 2008). "Developer: Study Could Sink Long Island Tunnel". Newsday.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ a b Uhlig, Mark A. (May 25, 1988). "Propane Truck Fire Disrupts L.I. Traffic". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-09.
- ^ New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally Incorporated. Mobil Oil. 1965.
- ^ D'Alessandro, Denise (March 22, 2002). "Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway Renamed "Ralph J. Marino Expressway". The Plainview-Old Bethpage Herald.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ McFadden, Robert D. (April 7, 2002). "Ralph J. Marino, Former State Senate Leader, Dies at 74". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-13.