LIE Closures Announced Through December

The New York State Department of Transportation announced this week that with an eye toward protection of motorists, some night and day closures of sections of the Long Island Expressway will be in effect in Riverhead and Brookhaven through December.

The closures began Thursday night; between the William Floyd Parkway/County Road 46, Exit 68, and Old Country Road/New York Route 25, exit 73.

According to the NYSDOT, the closures are necessary  to commence with a $6.2 million New York works project to address concrete pavement repairs. 

The repair work will be weather dependent and may be canceled, postponed or prolonged due to poor weather.

The NYSDOT said emergency service providers and local officials have been notified of the nightly travel lane closures.

Motorists are asked to adhere to elecronic message signs, and use alternate routes, or else, experience delays, especially during the initial closure hours.

TTwo LIE travel lanes in either the eastbound or westbound direction will be closed Monday through Friday nights between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on shorter segments of the 11 mile project area. 

Thee night closures will begin first in the westbound direction as the roadwork proceeds from Exit 73 to Exit 68, followed by two-lane closures in the eastbound direction between Exit 68 and Exit 73. 

A single travel lane will remain open to motorists throughout the roadwork area at night. In addition, a single LIE travel lane will be closed in either the eastbound or westbound direction between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on shorter sections of the project area, first on the LIE westbound followed by the LIE eastbound.   

Two LIE travel lanes will remain open to motorists during the day closures.   

Move-Over laws include hazard vehicles with amber lights, such as tow trucks and construction vehicles. On parkways and other major highways with multiple lanes, drivers must move to a travel lane away from a vehicle displaying amber, red, white, or blue flashing lights, or slow down, the NYSDOT said.

Violators face moving violation fines and points on their drivers’ licenses; fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone.  In accordance with the Work Zone Safety Act, convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of an individual’s driver’s license.

 For real-time travel information, call 511 or visit www.511NY.org.