Roadwork improvements begin on Northern State, Sunrise Highway

Projects to resurface sections of the Northern State Parkway and other Long Island roads, including key stretches of Sunrise Highway and Route 25, began this week, part of a $36.2 million road revitalization and safety project announced Monday by Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Work on the  Northern State will see the state Department of Transportation renew about 50 lane miles of asphalt in a section between Exit 33, the Wantagh State Parkway in Westbury, and the New York Avenue overpass in Melville. Lane miles are measurements that account for each lane on a highway or other road surface. 

The $18.5 million revitalization began on Monday with work on the westbound roadway and will continue through the end of the 2025 construction season, with crews returning next spring to complete resurfacing of the eastbound lanes, the governor's office said in a statement.

The project includes the installation of reflective pavement markings and will see more than 50 sidewalk ramps at parkway entrances and exits upgraded to meet standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Additionally, the governor said the state had begun a $17.7 million revitalization project that would see crews "mill and resurface" more than 60 lane miles in Suffolk. Those improvements will target a section of Sunrise Highway service roads between Manor Lane and Brentwood Road in Bay Shore, with the state planning to finish that work this fall. It also will target sections of Route 25 in Suffolk.

"These roads were last resurfaced over 10 years ago and [are] nearing the end of their service life," a spokesman for the regional division of the state DOT told Newsday.  

"Weather permitting, pavement resurfacing can continue until mid-to-late November," Stephen Canzoneri, of the state DOT regional office, said in an email.

The state DOT will use electronic message signs and other signage to alert drivers to the work, Canzoneri said.

Also announced as part of the investment program were projects slated for 2026, among them improvements to Middle Country Road (Route 25) from Route 25A to Splish Splash Drive in the Town of Riverhead; the Sunrise Highway south service road between Montauk Highway and Nicolls Road (County Road 97) in the Town of Islip; and the Sunrise Highway north service road between Nicolls Road and Pond Road in the Town of Islip.

Those 2026 improvement projects will include the upgrade of 180 sidewalk ramps to meet new ADA standards, as well as the installation of "highly reflective" pavement markings, the governor's office said. Most of the major construction will take place during off-peak and overnight hours, the announcement said.

The most recent annual highway pavement and bridge condition report compiled by the NYSDOT shows that while Long Island roads under state jurisdiction are often better than state-owned lane-miles in other regions, the condition of those roadways on the Island has declined significantly since 2017.

A NYSDOT report to the legislature showed that 63% of state-owned lane-miles were in good or excellent condition on Long Island in 2023 — that, compared to an average of 57% statewide. However, 82% of state-owned lane-miles on Long Island were in good or excellent condition in 2017.

And, Newsday has reported that Long Island roads under local jurisdiction are, as a whole, in worse condition that similar local roads statewide.

"Infrastructure must be constantly maintained and improved for the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services," AAA Northeast senior manager for Public Affairs Robert Sinclair Jr. said in an emailed statement to Newsday on Tuesday.

Newsday’s Peter Gill contributed to this story.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”