| Ocean Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 15.59 mi[1] (25.09 km) |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: | Meadowbrook Parkway / Bay Parkway at Jones Beach |
| Wantagh Parkway at Jones Beach Robert Moses Causeway in Captree State Park |
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| East end: | Toll booths in Captree State Park |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Nassau, Suffolk |
| Highway system | |
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Numbered highways in New York |
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The Ocean Parkway is a 15.59-mile (25.09 km) long state parkway that traverses Jones Beach Island between Jones Beach State Park and Captree State Park on Long Island, New York. The Ocean Parkway begins at the southern terminus of the Meadowbrook State Parkway, intersects the south end of the Wantagh State Parkway, and ends just past the southern terminus of the Robert Moses Causeway. It is designated New York State Route 909D, an unsigned reference route.
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It is one of the more unusual parkways of Long Island, with most of its exits not being to freeway standards. For most of its length, it is similar to a divided highway with right-in/right-out access, with right-only intersections forming most of the junctions and turnaround points for traffic coming from the opposite direction. There are three exceptions—the junction with the Wantagh State Parkway, which is a roundabout, and the junctions with Robert Moses Causeway near Captree State Park and at Bay Parkway in Jones Beach State Park where it becomes Meadowbrook State Parkway, both of which are full cloverleaf interchanges.
Because of its southern location, Ocean Parkway is one of the few parkways in the entire state whose entire length allows truck traffic, albeit for local deliveries only. This is because an exemption to the "No Trucks" regulation was made for any length of parkway that lies south of either Merrick Road or Montauk Highway (Nassau County Route 27A and New York State Route 27A). There are no other truck routes south of this route, making the parkways the default route for deliveries to the beaches.
It is said, that on a clear sunny day the Manhattan skyline can be seen from as far as the Suffolk County portion of the parkway, approximately 40–45 miles away.
Originally, there had been plans to extend the parkway to nearby Fire Island, and two attempts were made to authorize construction. However, residents resisted the plan: the first time for economic reasons, the second for environmental reasons. Although in 1964, Robert Moses Causeway was extended from its original terminus on Captree Island to Fire Island leading to the potential extension of Ocean Parkway, park legislation in the 1960s blocked further plans to extend the parkway.
In December 2010, Suffolk County Police found four decomposed bodies along the westbound shoulder of Ocean Parkway near Oak Beach while searching for Shannan Gilbert,[2][3] a missing prostitute from New Jersey last seen on May 1, 2010, in the area with a client. However, the remains were officially identified as other missing women who advertised services for prostitution on Craigslist. In late March and early April 2011, four more sets of human remains were found by police during additional searches along the parkway. Police have not identified the bodies.[3] An investigation is ongoing to determine if this the work of a serial killer.[2]
All exits are unnumbered.
| County | Location | Mile[1] | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nassau | Jones Beach State Park | 0.00 | Meadowbrook Parkway | Continuation beyond Bay Parkway | |
| Bay Parkway | |||||
| 2.00 | Wantagh Parkway north to Southern State Parkway | Roundabout | |||
| At-grade intersections for 13.27 miles (21.36 km) | |||||
| Suffolk | Captree State Park | 15.27 | Robert Moses Causeway – Robert Moses State Park, Fire Island | ||
| 15.59 | Toll booths | Eastern terminus of state maintenance | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
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