New Loop Parkway signs

New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) Regional Director Joseph Brown and State Senator Todd Kaminsky announced the Contingency Motorist Alert System to alert drivers in advance of roadway incidents on the Loop Parkway that are impeding traffic flow.

Four portable electronic message signs will now display short messages warning drivers of upcoming travel lane closures, a Loop Parkway drawbridge malfunction or other traffic-impacting incidents.  Drivers can then choose an alternate travel route to avoid traffic congestion.

DOT spokesperson Eileen Peters said the State has a centralized INFORM Transportation Information Management Center (TMC) in Hauppauge that will manage the signs. Once DOT staff in the field alert the center of any road/bridge incident the TMC can change the signs remotely immediately, activate alerts on all four signs and, at the same time, notify appropriate local emergency and other personnel.

“It can be a dead animal, a spill, an accident or any other event,” said Peters, “Our employees, a bridge monitor, construction workers or the police (including Long Beach and Nassau County) will notify the TMC and the signs will be changed. The DOT also has a list of pre-established emergency services that will be notified.”

The four signs are positioned at eastbound East Park Avenue at Lincoln Blvd; Loop Parkway northbound just north of Lido Blvd; Meadowbrook State Parkway (MSP) northbound just south of Loop Parkway; and MSP southbound just north of the abandoned gas station.

Messages will be removed once the incident is cleared.

The solar powered signs were already part of the State’s inventory.