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Light Rain A new look for Newbridge Road?
State to reconfigure East Meadow stretch known for high accident rate
Plans are in the works to reconfigure Newbridge Road in East Meadow, a stretch known for speeding and high accident rates.
In 2009, the state Department of Motor Vehicles reported six fatalities and 119 total accidents on Newbridge Road, from Hempstead Turnpike in East Meadow to North Jerusalem Road in North Bellmore.
The New York State Department of Transportation confirmed that it is in the preliminary stages of a project aimed at implementing safety measures on the road, also known as Route 106.
Senator Kemp Hannon and Nassau Legislator Norma Gonsalves are among a group of local lawmakers pushing for changes at Newbridge Road in East Meadow.
“It’s a major problem,” Gonsalves said. “It’s a two-lane road that lends itself to speed.”
In a statement, Hannon acknowledged that while increased enforcement is important, there is more that can be done to improve safety on the state street.
“Bottom line, the stretch of Newbridge Road in question is a concern to the community,” Hannon said. “The number of accidents and speeding incidences must be reduced. As speed traps can only reach a certain degree of effectiveness, the DOT and I have entered the preliminary stages of looking into the most efficient and practical way to improve the safety of drivers on Newbridge.”
The NYSDOT has worked on similar speed reduction projects on Long Island in the past. Most recently, in 2008 and 2009 on Route 25 in Smithtown, it reduced the travel lanes from two to one and reduced the speed limit. Audible delineators, the rumbles strips milled into the pavement to alert drifting drivers, were also installed in the center median.
“The speeding problem there has dropped considerably and the accident rate has dropped as well,” said Eileen Peters, a NYSDOT spokeswoman.
On Montauk Highway-Route 27A in West Islip, two lanes were reduced to one as well, with the center shared turning lane.
But, according to two sources familiar with the Newbridge Road plans, a concept being seriously considered is converting the northbound stretch into one lane, and keeping the southbound strip as two lanes along with a shared center turning lane.
Peters would not confirm specifics of NYSDOT’s plans. She said that experts working on the project are still in the preliminary stages and aim to release details at the end of June.
