Robert Moses Causeway

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This article is about the Long Island causeway. For the Niagara Falls parkway, see Robert Moses State Parkway.
Robert Moses Causeway
Reference Route 908J
Length: 8.10 mi[1] (13.04 km)
South end: Robert Moses State Park on Fire Island
Major
junctions:		 Ocean Pkwy in Captree State Park
NY 27 in West Islip
North end: Southern Pkwy in West Islip
Counties: Suffolk
Numbered highways in New York
Interstate - U.S. - N.Y. - Reference

The Robert Moses Causeway is an 8.10-mile (13.04 km) long parkway in Suffolk County, New York. The parkway, originally known as the Captree Causeway, connects West Islip on Long Island to the barrier beach islands, such as Captree Island, Jones Beach Island, and the western tip of Fire Island, to the south. It is designated New York State Reference Route 908J, an unsigned reference route.

Contents

[edit] Route description

The bridge carrying the causeway over the Fire Island Inlet as seen from Captree State Park.
The bridge carrying the causeway over the Fire Island Inlet as seen from Captree State Park.

The Fire Island Inlet span of the Robert Moses Causeway connects to Robert Moses State Park on the western tip of Fire Island.

The parkway traverses the State Boat Channel by way of a 665-foot-long bascule bridge modeled after the Mill Basin Drawbridge in Mill Basin, Brooklyn.

On the section that crosses the Great South Bay, the New York City skyline can be faintly seen-on a clear day.

The north-to-eastbound ramp to the Southern State (Heckscher) Parkway contains an interchange of its own with Suffolk CR 57 (Bay Shore Road).

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[edit] History

The first sprawling trestle crossing from West Islip to Captree Island was completed in 1951. The structure is 3,206.2 metres (2.0 mi) in length with a middle clearance for boats of 18.2 metres (59.7 ft).[2] Originally, one lane was for southbound traffic and the other for northbound traffic. In 1967, a new span was built next to the original bridge, carrying three lanes of northbound traffic.[2] The original bridge was reconfigured to carry southbound traffic.

The Fire Island Inlet span was completed in 1962[2] and by 1985 a dual span was supposed to be mimicked in order to alleviate traffic yet it was never done.[citation needed] When first proposed in 1938, the span was to be a vertical-lift span with a design similar to that of the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge.[citation needed] Later, the design of the Fire Island Bridge was changed to conform with that of the Great South Bay span, a 600-foot steel-arch span with a 60-foot clearance.

[edit] Future

In 2004, the New York State Department of Transportation began studies on the Fire Island Inlet span after the realization that it was rapidly decomposing due to flaws in the cement during its construction. Currently repairs are being undertaken to extend the life and safety of the bridge; groundbreaking for a new bridge is expected in 2010.[citation needed] It is assumed that the new bridge will be built to the west of the current structure; the new span will be four lanes, two southbound and two northbound.[citation needed] The new bridge is thought to retain the look of the old one for aesthetic conformity with the other bridges of the bay.[citation needed] After the new bridge is constructed, the decomposing bridge will be removed but implosion is not thought to be the method of deconstruction. Instead it is more likely the span will be disassembled and removed by crane.

[edit] Exit list

County Location Mile[1] # Destinations Notes
Suffolk Fire Island 0.00 Robert Moses State Park Traffic circle.
Captree State Park 1.03 Ocean Parkway
Captree Island Exit contains ramps for reversing direction on the Causeway.
West Islip 5.25 RM2 E-W NY 27A (Montauk Highway)
7.32 RM1 W-E NY 27 (Sunrise Highway)
8.10 Southern State Parkway west – New York City Northbound exit, southbound entrance.
CR 57 Northbound exit and entrance.
Robert Moses Causeway northbound merges with the Southern State Parkway eastbound.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Traffic Data Report - NY 908F to NY 953B (PDF). NYSDOT (2007-07-16). Retrieved on 2007-08-29.
  2. ^ a b c National Bridge Inventory, a database compiled by the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, available at www.nationalbridges.com. Accessed 2007-08-29.

[edit] External links

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Parkways on Long Island, New York
East-west
North-south
Formerly proposed