What Happened
The New York State Department of Transportation is closing the Long Island Expressway westbound off-ramp at Exit 60 at Ronkonkoma Avenue in Holbrook overnight Tuesday into Wednesday morning, according to an advisory reported by Patch.
The closure is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. Tuesday, August 11, 2026, and run through 5 a.m. Wednesday, August 12, 2026 — a seven-hour window timed to overnight hours to minimize traffic disruption. The NYSDOT is conducting the shutdown to facilitate highway maintenance, though the work is weather-permitting and subject to cancellation if conditions are unfavorable, Patch reported.
Drivers who normally use the Exit 60 Ronkonkoma Avenue off-ramp heading westbound should plan for the detour in advance. The NYSDOT recommends continuing to Exit 61 at Patchogue-Holbrook Road — also identified as County Road 19 — as the designated alternate route during the closure window.
Location & Road Context
Exit 60 at Ronkonkoma Avenue sits along one of the busiest and most incident-prone stretches of highway on Long Island. The Long Island Expressway (I-495) carries heavy commuter and freight traffic through Suffolk County daily, and the Holbrook area around Exits 60 and 61 serves as a key interchange corridor between central Suffolk communities.
Long Island Traffic’s database shows 2,191 recorded incidents on this road, including multiple crashes on I-495 in the 24 hours surrounding this closure — among them a fatal motorcycle crash in Maspeth also reported on August 11, 2026. Overnight maintenance windows like this one are specifically designed to limit the impact of lane and ramp restrictions on daytime traffic volumes.
Broader Impact
Motorists traveling westbound on the LIE late Tuesday night should build extra time into their routes, particularly those commuting toward western Suffolk or Nassau County destinations in the early pre-dawn hours before the 5 a.m. reopening. The Exit 61 Patchogue-Holbrook Road (County Road 19) detour adds minimal distance but may see increased overnight volume from diverted drivers during the maintenance window.