Meadowbrook State Parkway

Meadowbrook State Parkway
Route information
Length:	12.52 mi[2] (20.15 km)
Existed:	1934–1956[1] – present
Major junctions
South end:	Bay Parkway / Ocean Parkway at Jones Beach
	NY 27 in Freeport Southern State Parkway in North Merrick NY 24 in Uniondale
North end:	Northern Parkway in Carle Place
Location
Counties:	Nassau
Highway system
Numbered highways in New York Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County

The Meadowbrook State Parkway (also known as The Meadowbrook and The Meadowbrook Parkway) is a 12.52-mile (20.15 km) long parkway in Nassau County, New York. The southern terminus is at the Bay Parkway in Jones Beach State Park, where the parkway becomes the Ocean Parkway. The northern terminus is at the Northern State Parkway in Carle Place. The parkway is designated New York State Route 908E, an unsigned reference route. The road, like most parkways in New York State, is limited to non-commercial traffic, except south of Merrick Rd.

Route description

The Meadowbrook State Parkway travels north from the Ocean Parkway in Jones Beach. The road crosses a causeway over the Great South Bay onto Jones Island, where the Meadowbrook meets the Loop Parkway and where southbound traffic pays the parking fee if parking at Jones Beach. In Freeport, the Meadowbrook meets NY 27 at a full cloverleaf interchange. Two and a half miles later, the Meadowbrook meets the Southern State Parkway, then NY 24 before ending at the Northern State Parkway in Carle Place.

History

In 1931, the Wantagh State Parkway, the only route to Jones Beach, was becoming overwhelmed by up to 100,000 beachgoers a day. To alleviate traffic, construction on the Meadowbrook State Parkway began in 1932. In October 1934, a 4-mile (6 km) long section was opened from Jones Beach to what is now Exit M9 (Merrick Road).^[3] The following year, the parkway was extended 2.8 miles (4.5 km) to the Southern State Parkway in North Merrick.^[4] Urban planner Robert Moses proposed an extension to the Northern State Parkway, and despite having rights to construct, the plan was delayed by World War II.^[5][6] The extension did not open until October 1956.^[7]

In the 1950s, an expressway was proposed to the Northern Parkway between Freeport and Roslyn as opposed to the parkway extension that Moses advocated.^[1] Officials passed on the idea after local opposition, and a parkway extension was completed in 1956 by the state Department of Public Works. Since the 1950s, the parkway has undergone various widening projects and safety improvements to accommodate increasing traffic volume and speed.^[1]

Exit list

The entire route is in Nassau County.

Location	Mile[2]	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Jones Beach State Park	0.00		Ocean Parkway	Continuation beyond Bay Parkway
			Bay Parkway – Jones Beach
	0.98	M10	Loop Parkway
Freeport	4.30	M9E-W	Merrick Road (CR 27A)
	4.57	M8E-W	NY 27 (Sunrise Highway)	All trucks and buses must exit here northbound, trucks may enter here southbound
	5.10	M7E-W	Babylon Turnpike (CR 7A)
North Merrick	6.81	M6W-E	Southern State Parkway
Uniondale	8.99	M5	NY 24 east (Hempstead Turnpike) – East Meadow, Farmingdale
		M4	NY 24 west (Hempstead Turnpike) – Hempstead, Nassau Coliseum
	10.50	M3E-W	Stewart Avenue (CR 177) / Merchants Concourse – Eisenhower Park
	11.28	M2E-W	Zeckendorf Boulevard (CR 154)	To Roosevelt Field Mall
Carle Place	11.68	M1E-W	Old Country Road (CR 25)	Single exit M1 northbound
	12.52		Northern Parkway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

New York Roads portal

1. ^ ^{a b c} Anderson, Steve. "Meadowbrook State Parkway". NYCRoads. http://www.nycroads.com/roads/meadowbrook/. Retrieved March 18, 2010. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "2007 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. July 25, 2008. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/NYSDOT_Traffic_Data_Report_2007.pdf. Retrieved July 17, 2009. 
3. ^ "Jones Beach Link Opened by Moses". The New York Times: p. 3. October 28, 1934. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60F14FD3A58177A93CAAB178BD95F408385F9. Retrieved April 24, 2010. 
4. ^ "New Local Roads Soon; Meadowbrook Open for Traffic to Beaches". The New York Times: p. XX12. June 2, 1935. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00B12FE3A59107A93C0A9178DD85F418385F9. Retrieved April 24, 2010. 
5. ^ Hagstrom Map (1949). New York City Five Boroughs Street Atlas (Map). http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/70668/Nassau+County/. Retrieved April 1, 2010. 
6. ^ "New Highway Across Long ISland to Link North and South Shores; Moses Announces Nassau Has Acquired Land for Extension of Meadowbrook Parkway". The New York Times: p. N1. November 15, 1936. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00D15FA3E59167B93C7A8178AD95F428385F9. Retrieved April 24, 2010. 
7. ^ "Harriman Opens L.I. Parkway Link; Cuts Ribbon at Meadowbrook Extension". The New York Times: p. 55. October 14, 1956. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E15F7385C14738DDDAD0994D8415B8689F1D3. Retrieved April 24, 2010. 

External links

• Interchange of the Week Monday, December 15, 2003 (Empire State Roads)
• Jones Beach State Park
• Meadowbrook Parkway (Greater New York Roads)

Coordinates: 40°40′45″N 73°34′19″W / 40.679151°N 73.572052°W / 40.679151; -73.572052