County Route 55 (Suffolk County, New York)

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County Route 55
Eastport-Manor Road (Eastport-Manorville Road)
South end:	CR 80 in Eastport
Major junctions:	CR 71 in Eastport NY 27 near Eastport
North end:	CR 51 near Eastport
County routes in New York Suffolk County

Suffolk County Route 55 is a short county road in Suffolk County, New York located in and around Eastport, New York. It runs north and south from Suffolk CR 80 (Montauk Highway, formerly New York State Route 27A) to Suffolk CR 51 north of Eastport. Despite it's diminutive length, it packs quite a history.

[edit] History

As the name implies, the road originally went from Manorville to Eastport, New York, and was acquired by the Suffolk County Department of Public Works. The section between Montauk Highway and Suffolk CR 71(Old Country Road) was once part of Montauk Highway itself. When Sunrise Highway terminated at Exit 61, NY 27 took a right turn along a temporary multiplex with Suffolk CR 55 until it reached Montauk Highway, and continued eastward toward Montauk.

[edit] Former and proposed segments

Construction of the vast and complex Exit 61 interchange forced the realignment of Suffolk CR 55, as well as Head of the Neck Road. When Suffolk CR 111 was built between the Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway during the 1970's, it replaced Eastport-Manorville Road north of the road's current terminus and the L.I.E. However, Suffolk County Planning Department wanted to build a new extension of Suffolk CR 55 north of Suffolk CR 111 leading to the Grumman Calverton Airport. An interchange with the expressway was also supposed to have been built. Neither of these proposals were ever accepted.

Suffolk CR 55 was truncated to East Moriches-Riverhead Road in 1986, and the rest of Eastport-Manor Road fell under the jurisdiction of the Town of Brookhaven. This section is the home to the Shrine of Our Lady of The Island.