Overview
- Local leaders and first responders formally urged the state to widen the roughly 10-mile stretch between Patchogue and Center Moriches on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026, saying the roadway’s merge from three lanes to two creates persistent year‑round gridlock.
- The New York State Department of Transportation said it has no immediate plans to widen the corridor and has only added service‑road upgrades to its long‑range program rather than the current five‑year capital plan.
- State traffic counts show uneven trends across the corridor with nearly a 50% rise at Exit 53 from 2000 to 2019 and little change at Exit 58 over two decades, a pattern that engineers say makes benefits of widening likely to be concentrated in the western segment.
- Traffic experts warn costs could reach tens of millions of dollars if bridge or overpass work is required, and no formal cost estimate or construction timeline has been released by proponents who say the road’s wide right‑of‑way would avoid property takings.
- Supporters want the project added to the state five‑year plan to trigger studies and funding decisions, and they say the planned NYU Langone hospital expansion and proposed housing near Mastic Beach could increase demand and change the case for widening.