Southern State Parkway
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| Southern State Parkway |
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| Reference Route 908M | |||||
| Length: | 25.9 mi[1] (42 km) | ||||
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| Formed: | 1949 | ||||
| West end: |  Cross Island Parkway Belt Parkway |
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| Major junctions: |
 Meadowbrook Parkway Wantagh Parkway Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway |
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| East end: |  Heckscher State Pkwy at Sagtikos Parkway in East Islip |
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| Counties: | Nassau Suffolk |
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The Southern State Parkway or simply known as the Southern State or the Southern Parkway, is an east-west limited-controlled access highway on Long Island, New York, which links the Belt and Cross Island Parkways in New York City with the Heckscher State Parkway in East Islip, New York. The parkway runs east-west, as it goes through Belmont Lake State Park and Republic Airport, and has its western terminus at the Nassau-Queens border, where it interchanges with the Cross Island Parkway and Belt Parkway. The parkway provides six lanes of traffic most of the way, with eight lanes of traffic between the western terminus and Hempstead Avenue, 7 lanes (3 westbound, 4 eastbound) to Eagle Avenue and six lanes east of there. It is one part of unsigned New York State Reference Route 908M--the Heckscher State Parkway is the other part.
The Parkway's first exit is listed as Exit 13. This is because the Cross Island Parkway once began the exit numbering scheme, which the Southern State Parkway continued. However, the Cross Island Parkway's scheme was changed to instead continue those of the Belt Parkway. To avoid further confusion, the exits of the Southern State Parkway have not been changed.
The Parkway is heavily associated with the commuter and suburban culture of Long Island, and services communities along the southern half of the Island. It has a "twin" -- the Northern State Parkway -- which runs roughly parallel, approximately 7 miles to the north, but is less heavily traveled. Both of these roads, along with other parkways in the system, prohibit trucks and other large commercial vehicles. Additionally, they are truly "parkways" as compared to other limited access freeways, as they are surrounded by a belt of greenery on either side, and there are no billboards or other commercial intrusions, lending them a bucolically aesthetic quality.
The Southern State, as it's called locally, is infamous for its meandering zigzagging direction. Very little of the highway is built in a straight line, as it was built to avoid wealthy neighborhoods such as Malverne and Valley Stream along with already existing parks, cemeteries and other places (such as Republic Airport). It is perhaps best known for being clogged with traffic on summer weekends as it is used as the easiest route out of New York City to major Long Island beaches and resorts, such as Jones Beach, Fire Island, and the Hamptons, however, most of the highway, especially in Nassau County usually has heavy congestion during weekday rush hours as well. Unlike it's neighbors to the north, the Northern State Parkway and Long Island Expressway, the Southern State Parkway does not provide direct access to Manhattan in New York City.
Along with the Northern State Parkway, the Southern State is patrolled by Troop L of the New York State Police, based at Republic Airport in East Farmingdale, NY.
[edit] Exit list
| Exit # | Roadway/Listed Control Cities | Notes/Auxilliray Control Cities |
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Westbound Southern State feeds into Northbound  Cross Island Parkway and Westbound  Belt Parkway. This list, from top to bottom, goes eastbound. Scroll up from bottom for westbound exits. |
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| 13 S-N | Nassau County Road 20: Central Ave, Linden Blvd (Valley Stream, Elmont) |
Single exit westbound, Separate exits eastbound |
 WESTBOUND  EASTBOUND |
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| 14 S-N | North Fletcher Avenue (Valley Stream) |
An eastbound exit |
| 15A | Valley Stream State Park | An eastbound exit |
| 15 S-N | Nassau County Road 22: Corona Avenue | There is no EXIT 15N going westbound. Eastbound, this single exit also serves Franklin Avenue (Nassau CR 5) via a surface road that connects the exit 15 off ramp to the exit 16 on ramp. |
| 16 | Nassau County Road 5: Franklin Avenue | A westbound exit, please read above. |
| WESTBOUND: 4th Travel Lane Opens Up | ||
| 17 S-N | Nassau County Road 3: Hempstead Avenue (Hempstead, Malverne) |
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| EASTBOUND: RIGHT LANE EXIT ONLY TO EXIT 18 (ROADWAY NARROWS TO 3 LANES) | ||
| 18 | Eagle Avenue | |
| 19 S-N | Nassau County Road 2: Peninsula Boulevard (Hempstead, Rockville Center) |
Garden City |
| 20 S-N | Nassau County Road 55: Baldwin Road/Grand Avenue | Hempstead, Baldwin |
| 21 | Nassau County Road 7: Nassau Road (Hempstead, Freeport) |
Uniondale, Roosevelt |
| 22 S-N |  Meadowbrook State Parkway(Jones Beach, Mineloa) |
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| 23 | Meadowbrook Road | |
| 24 S-N | Nassau County Road 4: Merrick Avenue (Westbury, Merrick) |
East Meadow |
| 25 S-N |  NY Route 106(East Meadow, Bellmore) |
Nassau University Medical Center use EXIT 25N |
| 26 | Bellmore Road | An eastbound exit |
| 27 S-N |  Wantagh State Parkway(Westbury, Jones Beach) |
EXIT 27S- Jones Beach; EXIT 27N- TO  |
| 28 S-N | Nassau County Road 189: Wantagh Avenue (Levittown, Wantagh) |
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| 28A-B |  NY State Route 135 - Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway(Seaford, Syosset) |
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| 29 S-N |  NY State Route 107 Massapequa-Hicksville Road(Hicksville, Massapequa) |
Single exit eastbound, separate exits westbound. |
| 30 S-N | Nassau County Road 149: Broadway (Massapequa, Farmingdale) |
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| 31 |  Bethpage State Parkway NORTH / Linden St - Massapequa Park(Bethpage State Park) |
both exits eastbound, only Bethpage Parkway Westbound |
| Nassau/Suffolk County Line | ||
| 32 S-N |  NY Route 110(Huntington, Amityville) |
Eastbound Exit 32S also includes Suffolk County Route 1 (County Line Road) |
| 33 |  NY Route 109(Farmingdale, West Babylon) |
Eastbound, this exit is for NY-109 EAST. Westbound, this exit is for NY-109 WEST. |
| 34 |  Suffolk County Route 28: New Highway |
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| 35 |  Suffolk County Route 3: Wellwood Avenue(Lindenhurst) |
Pinelawn Cemeteries |
| 36 S-N |  Suffolk County Road 2: Straight Path(Lindenhurst, Wyndanch) |
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| 37 S-N | Suffolk County Road 107: Bellmont Avenue (West Babylon) |
EXIT 37N: Long Island State Park Headquarters |
| 38 | Belmont Lake State Park | |
| 39 S-N |  NY Route 231: Deer Park Avenue(Deer Park, Babylon) |
Northport |
| END: EASTBOUND LOCAL/EXPRESS LANE SETUP TRAFFIC MERGES INTO 3 LANES |
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| 40 |  Robert Moses Causeway SOUTH(Ocean Beaches) |
TO  |
| 41 S-N |  Suffolk County Route 57: Bay Shore Road(Bay Shore, Deer Park) |
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| BEGIN: EASTBOUND LOCAL/EXPRESS LANE (2-2) SETUP | ||
| 41A |  Sagtikos State Parkway NORTH(Sunken Meadow State Park, Kings Park) |
Eastbound, this is a left-hand exit. |
WESTBOUND: END  Heckscher State Parkway BEGIN 
EASTBOUND: END |
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[edit] Interesting facts
- Just east of Exits 32 N-S, a Parkway service area used to operate beneath the underpass of Suffolk CR 47(Great Neck Road).
- Commercial vehicles are excluded from the Southern State Parkway as the low overpasses and frequent curves do not permit truck traffic. Sunrise Highway serves as a truck route alternative to the Southern State Parkway.
[edit] External links
- Southern State Parkway Article from NYCROADS Web Site
- Interchange of the Week; Monday, March 19, 2001 (Empire State Roads)
- Valley Stream State Park
- Hempstead Lake State Park
- Belmont Lake State Park
| New York City parkways | |
| Manhattan | FDR East River Drive - Harlem River Drive - Henry Hudson |
| The Bronx | Bronx River - Henry Hudson - Hutchinson River - Mosholu - Pelham |
| Brooklyn-Queens | Belt Parkway system: Cross Island - Laurelton - Shore - Southern Others: Grand Central - Jackie Robinson (Interborough) Former: Gowanus - Whitestone - Long Island Motor Parkway |
| Staten Island | Korean War Veterans (Richmond) Former: Willowbrook Proposed: Wolfe's Pond |
| Parkways of Long Island, New York | |
| East-west | Northern - Southern - Heckscher - Bay - Ocean - Long Island Motor Parkway |
| North-south | Meadowbrook - Loop - Wantagh - Bethpage - Robert Moses - Sagtikos - Sunken Meadow |
| Formerly proposed | Caumsett - Sound Shore - Wildwood - Smith Point - Ponoquogue |
