What Happened
The New York State Department of Transportation will shut the Exit 63N ramp from westbound Sunrise Highway (State Route 27) to northbound Old Riverhead Road (County Road 31) in the Town of Southampton, Suffolk County, beginning at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, August 26, 2026. The closure runs seven hours, through 5 a.m. Thursday, August 27. The reason is pavement work, according to LongIsland.com, which published the NYSDOT advisory on August 24, 2026.
Drivers who normally exit at 63N to reach northbound Old Riverhead Road should instead continue on westbound State Route 27 to Exit 63S and use the interchange ramps to loop back to northbound County Road 31. The NYSDOT did not identify a mileage detour or an alternate highway approach.
The agency noted that all construction activities are weather-dependent and subject to change based on field conditions. No secondary contact or hotline beyond 511NY was listed for real-time updates on the closure status.
Location & Road Context
Exit 63 sits on westbound Sunrise Highway in the Town of Southampton, where State Route 27 meets Old Riverhead Road (County Road 31), one of the primary north-south connectors linking the South Fork to the Riverhead corridor. The 63N and 63S ramps serve opposite sides of that interchange; overnight pavement work on 63N pushes all northbound traffic through the 63S approach.
According to Long Island Traffic’s incident registry, Sunrise Highway has logged 23 recorded incidents in the past 30 days and 79 so far in 2026, making this overnight closure one of the more routine disruptions on a corridor that has also seen serious crashes. The most recent prior fatal crash on the corridor was recorded on August 10, 2026. A minor crash on NY 27 was also recorded on August 23, one day before this advisory was issued.
Broader Impact
Drivers heading toward Riverhead or the North Fork late Wednesday night should add time for the Exit 63S detour loop. For live closure status, the NYSDOT directs motorists to call 511, visit 511NY.org, or use the free 511NY mobile app.