- New York State Route 454
-
NYS Route 454
Suffolk County Veterans Memorial Highway Route information Maintained by NYSDOT Length: 13.67 mi[2] (22.00 km) Existed: March 29, 1972[1] – present Major junctions West end: 
NY 25 in Commack
Sunken Meadow Parkway in Commack
I-495 in IslandiaEast end: 
NY 27 near PatchogueLocation Counties: Suffolk Highway system Numbered highways in New York
Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County← 
NY 448NY 456 
→New York State Route 454 (NY 454), also known as the Suffolk County Veterans' Memorial Highway, is a 13.67-mile (22.00 km) east–west divided highway in western and central Suffolk County on Long Island in New York. It spans from NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike) in Commack to NY 27 (Sunrise Highway) north of Patchogue. The route provides access to the Long Island MacArthur Airport, as well as New York State and Suffolk County government offices, and at one time the Long Island Arena. NY 454 serves as the northern terminus for the Northern State Parkway in Hauppague, where a concurrency with NY 347 begins.
The origins of NY 454 date back to the late 1940s when a new freeway was constructed from Commack to Patchogue for $1.4 million (1949 USD). This new freeway was designated as a memorial for Suffolk County War Veterans. The route was designed and constructed by the Suffolk County Department of Public Works under watch and aid from the New York State Department of Public Works and the United States government. Upon completion in January 1950, the route was designated as County Route 76 (CR 76) west of Town Line Road and CR 78 southeast of Town Line Road, until 1968 when it was designated CR 78 for its entire length. In 1972, the state took over control of the new highway and designated it NY 454. Recently, there have been plans to expand the highway and the concurrency with Route 347 with new travel lanes and a new interchange being built between the two highways.
Contents
Route description
Route 454 approaching the Sunken Meadow State Parkway in Commack
NY 454 begins at a fork along NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike) in Commack. The route heads southeastward as the four-lane Veterans Memorial Highway, passing through a large commercial district built up around NY 454's interchange with the Sunken Meadow State Parkway (exit SM2). From there, Route 454 continues eastward through a residential district for several miles and passes to the south of Whitman Hollow Park. The arterial continues southeastward through local residential areas with four lanes before meeting NY 347 and the Northern State Parkway at an interchange in Hauppauge. The junction serves as the western terminus of Route 347 and the eastern terminus of the Northern Parkway. Route 347 and Route 454 become concurrent, crossing through Hauppauge and residential properties for the next two miles (3.2 km), intersecting with local roads. After bending around Forestwood Park, Routes 454 and 347 follow the town line and pass the Stoubrough Golf Course, where Route 347 forks to the northeast.[3]
From there, Route 454 turns to the southeast, intersecting with NY 111 (Hauppauge Road) and narrowing to two lanes. After turning further to the south, the highway intersects with Suffolk County Route 67, the former alignment of the Long Island Motor Parkway. Here, Route 454 returns to four lanes and meets the Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495) and its frontage roads. The route enters the local community of Islandia and enters a large commercial district, where the route intersects with County Route 100 (Old Nichols Road). After crossing the Long Island Railroad, Route 454 enters Connetquot River State Park, bends to the east and traverses the park. Crossing over the Connetquot River, the arterial crosses a hiking trail and soon leaves the park.[3]
Route 454 continues as a four-lane arterial through a large commercial district, intersecting with County Route 93 (Lakeland Avenue). There, the highway crosses Long Island MacArthur Airport and bends to the east through another large commercial district remaining unchanged for several miles. The route turns to the southeast at Coates Avenue as a four-lane arterial for the last two miles (3.2 km) of Route 454. About three miles (4.8 km) from Lakeland Avenue, Route 454 interchanges with exit 51 on the Sunrise Highway (NY 27) in Patchogue, where the designation ends and the right-of-way merges into Route 27.[3]
History
Route 454 in Islip approaching the Long Island Expressway (I-495)Construction first began in 1948 for a new freeway from Commack to Patchogue by the Suffolk County Department of Public Works. The $1.4 million (1949 USD) project was funded by federal aid and was designated as a new memorial for the war veterans. People had been arguing since 1947 to get a new county-funded war veteran memorial installed in Suffolk, including a number of other suggested projects such as trees at a park in Yaphank to a new general-use hospital. On April 30, 1949, the sides came to agreement to name the new highway for the war veterans, and two agencies were hired to come up with a name. The design for the freeway between Commack and Patchogue included a 145-foot-wide (44 m) right-of-way, and the road was constructed under the supervision of the New York State Department of Public Works.[4]
Construction continued throughout 1949, with the new Veterans Memorial Highway opening on January 25, 1950. The new 13.62-mile (21.92 km) highway was designated as County Route 76 for 4.18 miles (6.73 km) through Smithtown and County Route 78 for the remaining 9.44 miles (15.19 km) in the town of Islip. The new freeway's wide right-of-way was built with room for additional lanes if the situation became necessary. Although the state of New York and the federal government both helped aid the project, the control of the new highway was turned over to the Suffolk County Superintendent of Highways.[5] In March 1968, CR 76 was truncated to begin at NY 347 while CR 78 was extended northwestward over CR 76's former routing to NY 25 in Commack.[1]
In 1970, the Nassau–Suffolk Regional Planning Board brought up plans to expand County Route 78 to a six-lane expressway with new service roads to aid. A similar thing was to occur to the nearby four-laned NY 347 through Islip.[6] To aid this, ownership and maintenance of CR 78 was transferred to the New York State Department of Transportation on March 29, 1972, receiving the designation of NY 454.[1] The state immediately expanded Route 454 to six lanes, with three in each direction from Patchogue to the terminus of NY 347. In 1977, the state designated the portion of the highway in Hauppague as both Route 454 and Route 347 after it became clear that the Hauppauge Spur of the Long Island Expressway would not be constructed.[7] The plans to expand Route 454 and Route 347 into full-blown freeways were discarded by the 1980s.
During the 1990s, the Department of Transportation looked into the expansion of Route 347 and Route 454. The studies suggested that the state would add one additional traffic lane in each direction, giving most of the highway six lanes with eight travel lanes along the concurrency in Hauppauge. The new lanes would also be capable of holding rapid-commute vehicles for the Long Island Rapid Commute.[6] The interchange where Routes 347 and 454 fork in Hauppague is slated to go from an at-grade fork to a grade-separated interchange. The project, which will cost $359 million (2009 USD) is scheduled to be completed between 2012 and 2015.[8]
Major intersections
The entire route is in Suffolk County.
Location Mile[2] Destinations Notes Smithtown 0.00 NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike)0.53 Sunken Meadow ParkwayExit SM2 (Sunken Meadow Parkway) 2.19 
Northern Parkway / NY 347Exit 47 (Northern Parkway); eastern terminus of Northern Parkway; western terminus of NY 347 and NY 347 / NY 454 overlap Hauppauge 4.38 NY 347 eastEastern terminus of NY 347 / NY 454 overlap 4.62 
NY 111 (Joshua's Path)Islandia 
CR 67 (Long Island Motor Parkway)6.10 I-495 (Long Island Expressway)Exit 57 (I-495) 7.20 
CR 100 (Suffolk Avenue)Eastern terminus of CR 100 Bohemia 10.51 
CR 93 (Lakeland Avenue)11.32 
CR 112 (Johnson Avenue)Entrance to Long Island MacArthur Airport Town of Islip 
CR 18 (Broadway Avenue)13.67 NY 27 east (Sunrise Highway)Exit 51 (NY 27) 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi See also
References
- ^ a b c "County Road System – County of Suffolk, New York" (PDF). Suffolk County Department of Public Works. December 29, 2005. http://www.greaternyroads.info/pdfs/suffcr.pdf. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ a b "2008 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. pp. 316–317. https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/NYSDOT_Traffic_Data_Report_2008.pdf. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
- ^ a b c Bing Maps (2009). Overview map of Route 454 (Map). Cartography by NAVTEQ. http://www.maps.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9LH7#JmNwPTQwLjgwNjA0MjY2Mzc1MzA0fi03My4xNzQ2MTE4MTQzMjAwOSZsdmw9MTImc3R5PXImcnRwPXBvcy40MC44NDIzNTI3MzMwMTYwMTRfLTczLjI5MDM4MTY1NTA5NzAxX25lYXIlMjBKZXJpY2hvJTIwVHBrZSUyQyUyMENvbW1hY2slMkMlMjBOZXclMjBZb3JrJTIwMTE3MjUlMkMlMjBVbml0ZWQlMjBTdGF0ZXNfX19hX35wb3MuNDAuNzY5NzMyNTk0NDkwMDVfLTczLjA1ODg0MTk3MzU0MzE3X19fX2FfJnJ0b3A9MH4wfjB+. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
- ^ "Road To Be Memorial To Suffolk Veterans". The New York Times: p. 88. April 30, 1949. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60D14F83B5F177B93C3A9178ED85F4D8485F9. Retrieved April 11, 2010.
- ^ Clayton, Coletta (January 26, 1950). "New County Road Opens Up Interesting Hinterlands". The Patchogue Advance (Patchogue, New York).
- ^ a b Long Island Regional Transportation Plan. Nassau–Suffolk Regional Planning Board. 1970.
- ^ Greer, Kimberly (December 22, 1986). "Island's Hottest Seven Miles". Newsday (New York City).
- ^ Rather, John (June 12, 2005). "Route 347 Plan: Honk If You Hate It". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9500E1DE1038F931A25755C0A9639C8B63. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
External links
Categories:- State highways in New York
- Transportation in Suffolk County, New York
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