What Happened
Two major repaving projects will force overnight lane closures across Nassau and Suffolk counties over the coming weeks, the New York State Department of Transportation announced Saturday, August 1, 2026, according to Newsday. The closures affect the Long Island Expressway in Nassau County and Sunrise Highway spanning from Hempstead into Babylon, with work beginning as early as Sunday night.
On the Long Island Expressway, eastbound lanes between Exit 39 at Glen Cove Road and Exit 40 at Jericho Turnpike will be closed nightly from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for approximately two weeks, the state DOT said. The HOV lane in that same corridor will shut down even earlier — at 9 p.m. each night — also between those two exits, with work proceeding weather permitting. The project begins Sunday, meaning the first closure takes effect Sunday night into Monday morning.
Officials said drivers needing to travel eastbound through that stretch of the LIE should use the South Service Road as their primary alternate, or divert to the Northern State Parkway entirely to bypass the work zone. Newsday reported both detour options were offered by DOT officials alongside the announcement.
The second project covers Sunrise Highway in Nassau and western Suffolk counties. Transportation workers will repave two eastbound lanes between Harrison Avenue in Hempstead and County Line Road in Babylon. Those lanes will be closed Sunday nights through Thursday nights — meaning Friday and Saturday nights are unaffected — from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Construction on Sunrise Highway begins Monday, August 3, and is expected to last approximately four weeks, per the Newsday report.
Unlike the LIE project, which lists weather as a conditional factor for the HOV lane closure, no weather caveat was specified by officials for the Sunrise Highway work schedule. Drivers needing real-time updates on either project can visit 511NY.org for the latest lane status and detour guidance.
Location & Road Context
The LIE closure zone sits between Glen Cove Road (Exit 39) and Jericho Turnpike (Exit 40) in Nassau County — a frequently congested segment of I-495 even during overnight hours. Our database shows 2,052 recorded incidents on I-495 on Long Island, including multiple crashes and disabled vehicles reported as recently as August 3, 2026. Nassau County alone accounts for 987 recorded accidents in our incident database, underscoring the volume of traffic activity in this corridor. Recent incidents on roads directly tied to this closure include a moderate crash on the Northern State Parkway — one of the DOT’s recommended detour routes — reported August 3, meaning drivers diverting from the LIE should still exercise caution overnight.
The Sunrise Highway segment runs from Harrison Avenue in Hempstead through to County Line Road in Babylon, a stretch that bridges the Nassau-Suffolk border. With four weeks of Sunday-through-Thursday closures scheduled, the impact on early-morning commuters along this corridor will extend well into September 2026.
Broader Impact
The overlap of these two simultaneous projects creates a compounded detour burden for eastbound overnight drivers in Nassau County. Travelers pushed off the LIE onto the Northern State Parkway should note that route has seen its own recent incident activity, and those using Sunrise Highway as an alternate to the LIE may themselves encounter the active repaving zone between Hempstead and Babylon. Drivers are encouraged to check 511NY.org before traveling and to allow extra time through the affected areas on any night from Sunday through Thursday for at least the next four weeks.