During October 12–18, 2026, 511NY listed 5 unplanned full closures on Nassau and Suffolk roads, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. 511NY kept the Robert Moses Causeway westbound closure listed for 8 hours on Sunday, October 18.
The same 511NY records show 26 planned full closures for roadwork or events that week. The Long Island Expressway led them with 8, and 22 of the 26 were reported starting between 10 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.
Robert Moses Causeway westbound listed for 8 hours Sunday
511NY reported the Robert Moses Causeway closure at 6:58 a.m. Sunday, October 18, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. It was last listed at 3:00 p.m. that day. The closure ran westbound between Ocean Parkway and Captree State Park in Islip and Exit RM2E, NY 27A and Montauk Highway in Islip.
The other unplanned closures were all listed for shorter periods, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic:
- NY 878 southbound: listed for 7.1 hours between Burnside Avenue (CR 10) in Hempstead and the Atlantic Beach Bridge in Lawrence. It was reported at 10:12 p.m. Friday, October 16, and last listed at 5:16 a.m. Saturday, October 17.
- NY 25A eastbound: listed for 6.7 hours in Huntington, between New York Avenue and NY 110 and Myrtle Avenue and Stewart Avenue. It was reported at 10:01 p.m. Sunday, October 18, and last listed at 4:44 a.m. Monday, October 19.
- Southern State Parkway eastbound: listed for 3 hours in Islip, between Exit 41A (Sagtikos State Parkway) and Exit 43N (NY 111). It was reported at 10:05 p.m. Friday, October 16, and last listed at 1:07 a.m. Saturday, October 17.
- Wantagh State Parkway westbound: listed for 1.2 hours at Exit W3E (Hempstead Turnpike) in Hempstead. It was reported at 8:12 a.m. Sunday, October 18, and last listed at 9:26 a.m.
Longest-listed unplanned full closures, Nassau and Suffolk, October 12–18, 2026
| Road | Direction | Where (per 511NY) | Cause (511NY wording) | Reported (ET) | Last listed (ET) | Hours listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Moses Causeway | Westbound | between Ocean Parkway; Captree State Park (Islip) and Exit RM2E - NY 27A; Montauk Highway (Islip) | Road closed | Sun 10/18 6:58 a.m. | Sun 10/18 3:00 p.m. | 8 |
| NY 878 | Southbound | between Burnside Avenue (CR 10) (Hempstead) and Atlantic Beach Bridge (Lawrence) | Road closed | Fri 10/16 10:12 p.m. | Sat 10/17 5:16 a.m. | 7.1 |
| NY 25A | Eastbound | between New York Avenue; NY 110 (Huntington) and Myrtle Avenue; Stewart Avenue (Huntington) | Road closed | Sun 10/18 10:01 p.m. | Mon 10/19 4:44 a.m. | 6.7 |
| Southern State Parkway | Eastbound | between Exit 41A - Sagtikos State Parkway (Islip) and Exit 43N - NY 111 (Islip) | Road closed | Fri 10/16 10:05 p.m. | Sat 10/17 1:07 a.m. | 3 |
| Wantagh State Parkway | Westbound | at Exit W3E - Hempstead Turnpike (Hempstead) | Road closed | Sun 10/18 8:12 a.m. | Sun 10/18 9:26 a.m. | 1.2 |
An unplanned full closure stayed listed for a median of 6.7 hours, and 4 were listed for 3 hours or more, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. By county, 2 of the unplanned closures were in Nassau and 3 were in Suffolk, the records show.
For current conditions and past closures, see Southern State Parkway live conditions and history and Wantagh State Parkway live conditions and history.
Five roads tied with one unplanned closure each
No single road led unplanned full closures, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. NY 25A, NY 878, the Robert Moses Causeway, the Southern State Parkway and the Wantagh State Parkway tied with 1 unplanned closure each.
511NY’s own wording for the cause of all 5 unplanned closures was “Road closed,” the records show. Long Island Traffic dropped 1 record as a likely duplicate, meaning it matched another on road, direction and cause and overlapped it in time.
Full closures by road (top 10)
| Road | Unplanned | Planned (roadwork or events) |
|---|---|---|
| NY 25A | 1 | 4 |
| NY 878 | 1 | 4 |
| Southern State Parkway | 1 | 4 |
| Wantagh State Parkway | 1 | 4 |
| Robert Moses Causeway | 1 | 0 |
| Long Island Expressway | 0 | 8 |
| Harbor Rd | 0 | 1 |
| NY 110 | 0 | 1 |
Long Island Expressway led planned closures with 8
The Long Island Expressway had 8 planned full closures, the most of any road, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. NY 25A, NY 878, the Southern State Parkway and the Wantagh State Parkway each had 4 planned closures, the records show.
On the Long Island Expressway westbound, between Exit 39 (Glen Cove Road) in North Hempstead and Exit 31N-S, 511NY listed roadwork 4 times for a total of 20.4 hours, according to the same records. Eastbound, between Exit 42 (Northern State Parkway) in Jericho and Exit 48 (Round Swamp Road) in Oyster Bay, roadwork was listed 2 times for a total of 10.9 hours.
The longest single planned listing was roadwork on NY 878 eastbound between the Atlantic Beach Bridge and Broadway, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. It was listed for 7.6 hours, from 9:51 p.m. Monday, October 12, to 5:26 a.m. Tuesday, October 13.
Planned full closures (roadwork or events) by location, most hours listed first
| Road | Direction | Where (per 511NY) | Work (511NY wording) | Times listed | Total hours listed | Longest single listing (hours) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long Island Expressway | Westbound | between Exit 39 - Glen Cove Road (North Hempstead) and Exit 31N-S | Roadwork | 4 | 20.4 | 6.7 |
| NY 878 | Southbound | between the start of NY 878 (Nassau Expressway) and Exit 3 | Roadwork | 2 | 12.3 | 7.4 |
| NY 25A | Westbound | between NY 112 and NY 111; NY 25 | Roadwork | 2 | 12 | 7.3 |
| Southern State Parkway | Eastbound | between 908K and Exit 42N - CR 13 (Islip) | Roadwork | 2 | 11.9 | 6.7 |
| Wantagh State Parkway | Westbound | between 908G and NY 106 | Roadwork | 2 | 11.7 | 6.2 |
| Long Island Expressway | Eastbound | between Exit 42 - Northern State Parkway (Jericho) and Exit 48 - Round Swamp Road (Oyster Bay) | Roadwork | 2 | 10.9 | 6.5 |
See current Long Island road work zones for active projects.
22 of 26 planned closures reported starting overnight
511NY reported 22 of the 26 planned full closures starting between 10 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. One planned closure was reported starting in the morning, from 6 to 9:59 a.m., and 3 in the afternoon and evening, from 3 to 9:59 p.m.
Among the unplanned closures, 3 were reported starting overnight and 2 in the morning, the records show. 511NY reported no full closures of either kind starting at midday, from 10 a.m. to 2:59 p.m.
Full closures by the time 511NY reported them starting (Eastern)
| Start time | Unplanned | Planned (roadwork or events) |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight (10 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) | 3 | 22 |
| Morning (6–9:59 a.m.) | 2 | 1 |
| Midday (10 a.m.–2:59 p.m.) | 0 | 0 |
| Afternoon and evening (3–9:59 p.m.) | 0 | 3 |
Earlier weeks span a 511NY feed change
511NY listed an average of 0.7 unplanned full closures per day this week, across 7 days counted, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. Over the previous 4 weeks, the average was 1.5 per day across 23 days counted.
Those comparison weeks straddle a change in the data. Long Island Traffic began reading 511NY’s new system on October 2, 2026. The week of September 21–27, 2026, had 25 unplanned full closures, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic.
Full closures by week (days with missing 511 data excluded)
| Week (ET) | Days counted | Unplanned | Unplanned per day | Median hours listed (unplanned) | Planned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 12–18, 2026 | 7 | 5 | 0.7 | 6.7 | 26 |
| October 5–11, 2026 | 7 | 2 | 0.3 | 3.5 | 26 |
| September 28–October 4, 2026 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0.8 | 15 |
| September 21–27, 2026 | 7 | 25 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 23 |
| September 14–20, 2026 | 6 | 5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 24 |
How we measured this
- Records: 511NY records on Nassau and Suffolk roads whose description says all lanes were closed or blocked (or “Road closed”), with a 511 start time from 12:00 a.m. October 12 through 11:59 p.m. October 18 (Eastern). Queens is excluded.
- Long Island Traffic checks the 511NY feed about once an hour. “Hours listed” runs from the start time 511NY reported to the last hourly check that still listed the closure; the next check no longer had it.
- Unplanned closures are those 511NY attributes to crashes, downed trees, poles or wires, flooding, police or fire activity, spills, water-main breaks or emergency repairs. Closures 511NY attributes to roadwork, maintenance or events are counted as planned. Causes are 511NY’s own wording.
- Advance construction schedules (one 511 notice covering a week of nightly work) are not counted; only closures 511NY listed while they were in effect are.
- Two records on the same road, direction and cause whose listings overlap are counted once, keeping the longer listing.
- Days on which 511NY data was missing or incomplete are left out of this week and of the comparison weeks, and the weeks are compared per counted day.
Limitations
- 511NY data was missing or incomplete on Sep 19, 2026, Sep 30, 2026, Oct 1, 2026, Oct 2, 2026 and Oct 4, 2026 (a 511NY outage or capture gap). Those days are left out; 7 days are counted this week and 23 in the previous four weeks.
- Long Island Traffic began reading 511NY’s new system on October 2, 2026. Records before and after that date come from different versions of the 511NY feed, and whether the two record incidents at the same rate has not yet been measured, so a change across that date may partly reflect the switch.
- “Hours listed” is how long 511NY kept the closure on its feed, measured to about an hour. It is not an official reopening time: 511NY can clear a record before or after every lane reopens.
- Lane status is the last one 511NY showed. A closure that was partly reopened before its record cleared may not be counted as a full closure, and some closures never reach 511NY.
- Causes are 511NY’s labels at the time of listing, not findings from police or crash investigations.
- Closures on local and village streets are counted only when 511NY lists them, which is mostly state roads, parkways and county roads.