Montauk Highway


Montauk Highway
Major junctions
West end: Merrick Boulevard and Carman Mill Road in West Amityville
 

NY 110 in Amityville
NY 109 in Babylon
NY 231 in Babylon
Robert Moses Causeway in West Islip
NY 111 in Islip
Heckscher Parkway in Great River
NY 27 from Great River to Oakdale
NY 112 in Patchogue

NY 24 in Hampton Bays
NY 114 in East Hampton
East end: Montauk Point State Park in Montauk
Highway system

Numbered highways in New York
Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County (Suffolk)

CR 79 CR 80 CR 81
CR 84 CR 85 CR 86

Montauk Highway is one of the original through highways of Long Island, New York, extending from Jamaica, in the New York City borough of Queens to Montauk Point in Suffolk County, a distance of approximately 100 miles (~160 km).

Montauk Highway begins in Jamaica, the county seat of Queens County and an important railroad junction located in the east-central part of the county. Montauk Highway was routed in a southeasterly direction toward the Atlantic Ocean coastline of Long Island, turning in an east-northeasterly direction in current Nassau County to more or less parallel the shore through Suffolk County, ending at Montauk Point, the easternmost point of land on the South Fork of the island. Within Queens, the road is known as Merrick Boulevard today, and for its entire run in Nassau County, the road is Merrick Road; the Montauk Highway designation picks up in Amityville.

Montauk Highway was planned as the southernmost all-weather road on Long Island, and was the original route of New York State Route 27, until superseded for most of its length by Sunrise Highway; much is now Route 27A. Between Connetquot River State Park Preserve and the western border of Patchogue, the road is designated as Suffolk County Road 85. East of NY 112, the road is designated as Suffolk County Road 80. It is still the southernmost through route in most locations on Long Island, though its has been relocated in some places and the original route designated by another name or as Old Montauk Highway, notably west of Montauk, where new Montauk Highway passes through Montauk Point State Park while the Old Montauk Highway is a narrow hilly road next to the shoreline.

As an all-weather road, Montauk has rarely been breached by even serious storms, although portions were flooded out by the New England Hurricane of 1938 in the Hamptons.

The current road is no longer a single route-designated road. In Queens, it is a city street, known as Merrick Boulevard. Through Nassau County it is a two-to-four lane highway with traffic lights, known as Merrick Road, after the community of Merrick, through which it passes. In Suffolk County, the road generally narrows to two lanes in most places, especially through towns of which it forms the main street, such as Amityville, Babylon Village, Bay Shore, Islip, Oakdale, Sayville and Patchogue. In these places, Montauk Highway is often called Main Street, although old-timers in the more westerly communities also call it Merrick Road, though it is not signed that way. In addition to being called Montauk Highway and Main Street in Suffolk County, it is also historically known as South Country Road, a name that is only used by former segments today.

Proceeding east from Patchogue, Montauk Highway runs through less-densely populated communities until it passes Speonk and enters the Hamptons, the small-town, farming and summer resort communities especially popular with New York City summer vacationers. Montauk Highway forms the main street of most of these communities, such as Westhampton, Quogue, and Hampton Bays . At Southampton, Montauk Highway resumes being New York Route 27 as the major (sometimes only) through road in the area, passing through Bridgehampton, East Hampton, Amagansett and Montauk.

Contents

Suffolk County Road 85

County Route 85
Location: Great River – Patchogue
Length: 8.32 mi[1] (13.39 km)
Existed: 1966–present

Suffolk County Road 85 is a section of Montauk Highway that runs through the hamlets of Oakdale, West Sayville, Sayville, Bayport, and Blue Point, ending in Patchogue at County Road 19.

East of Suffolk County Road 19, West Main Street continues as a street maintained by the Village of Patchogue, not gaining another designation til the name changes to East Main Street, and crosses over the Village line, where it is designated as Suffolk County Road 80 to the Hamptons.

Previously, CR 85 was the Smithtown Bypass until 1966, when that road was acquired by the New York State Department of Transportation and designated New York State Route 347. The designation was then moved to its current place and shared with NY 27A until that designation was eliminated in 1972.


Suffolk County Road 80

County Route 80
Location: Patchogue – Shinnecock Hills
Length: 32.50 mi[1] (52.30 km)
Existed: 1966(1968)–present

Suffolk County Road 80 was transferred to Montauk Highway from the Nesconset-Port Jefferson Highway in 1966, when that road was acquired by the New York State Department of Transportation and designated New York State Route 347. The designation was shared with NY 27A until that designation was eliminated in 1972, except in the vicinity of Shinnecock Hills, and Southhampton. In the 1980s, Suffolk CR 80 was eliminated from East and West Main Street in the Village of Patchogue. The same situation occurred in the Village of Southampton, where the SR 27A designation was completely removed from the road, and the Suffolk CR 80 designation truncated to the village line (the spot is marked simply by an "End Suffolk County 80" sign along Montauk Highway east of the Shinnecock Canal).

The segment east of Station Road in North Bellport and Suffolk CR 36 in Brookhaven still contains old concrete pavement, a common practice of the mid-20th century.

Between the east end of Suffolk CR 98 and the vicnity of the west end of Suffolk CR 71, Suffolk County Department of Public Works had planned to widen the road from two lanes to four lanes.

Major intersections

For intersections west of Great River, New York, see Merrick Road and New York State Route 27A. For intersections east of Cobb, New York, see New York State Route 27.

Former segments

The following is a list of local streets on Long Island that used to be part of Montauk Highway, many of which are residential streets:

Two former segments exist here, both of which are a result of construction and reconstruction of the Oakdale Merge and currently used as Department of Environmental Conservation Fishing Areas. One, Bubbles Falls, is on the Southeast corner of Sunrise & Montauk Highways near the entrance to Connetquot River State Park, while the other, Rattlesnake Brook, is on the Southwest corner.

From Lowell Road through Old Broadway Avenue.

Now known as South Country Road(Suffolk CR 36) since July 19, 1932, this segment runs through the Bellport Village Historic District.[3][4]

In front of a private residence near Yaphank Avenue.

Now known as Old South Country Road.

From Washington Avenue to a garage overlooking the West Lake of the Forge River.[5]

From Barnes Road on the East Lake of the Forge River to some undetermined location.

Between Old Neck Road & Senix Road, currently a private road from Old Neck Road to houses along the Long Island Rail Road Montauk Line.[6]

Camp Paquatuck to Mill Pond Lane, now a pedestrian bridge across the Terrell River.

Now known as Old Country Road (Suffolk County Road 71). At some point in the 20th century, Old Country Road (Suffolk CR 71) was only part of Montauk Highway between the current Montauk Highway to Eastport-Manor Road (Suffolk CR 55), and from there it turned south along Suffolk CR 55 to Main Street (Suffolk CR 80/Former New York State Route 27A.) in Eastport.[4]

Mill Road near the Speonk River.

East of Head of the Pond Road.

From Georgica Drive to across the street from the Nature Conservancy on Georgica Pond, now the westbound Rest Area.[7]

Currently the eastbound Rest Area.

Part of Cranberry Hole Road (Suffolk CR 33), to Old Montauk Highway, northeast of the Long Island Rail Road Montauk Line crossing.

Between Cranberry Hole Road (Suffolk CR 33), and Napeauge Meadow Road, near East Hampton Beach.

Part of Neapauge Meadow Road, to Old Montauk Highway, northwest of the Long Island Rail Road Montauk Branch crossing.

From Hither Hills State Park to between South Dearborn Place and Second House Road.

From Ranch Road near Theodore Roosevelt County Park to eastbound Montauk Point State Park U-Turn.

See also

References

External links