What Happened
The New York State Department of Transportation is warning Long Island commuters and overnight travelers of significant lane disruptions on one of the region’s busiest corridors. Beginning Monday, July 6, 2026, the eastbound Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495) in the Town of North Hempstead, Nassau County, will be closed every weeknight from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for approximately two weeks. The advisory, published July 2, 2026 by LongIsland.com, was issued to give motorists advance notice ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend.
The affected stretch runs between Exit 35 — Shelter Rock Road — in the Village of North Hills and Exit 39 — Glen Cove Road — in the Village of East Hills. That four-exit span of the eastbound LIE will be fully shut to through traffic each night within that window to allow crews to carry out a pavement renewal project. The closures are weather-dependent and subject to change based on field conditions, the NYSDOT cautioned.
The eastbound HOV lane on the same segment faces an even earlier closure time. According to the advisory reported by LongIsland.com, the HOV lane will close beginning at 9 p.m. each weeknight — a full hour before the general travel lanes shut down at 10 p.m. Both the HOV lane and the main eastbound roadway are scheduled to reopen by 5 a.m. each morning.
Motorists impacted by the closure will be detoured onto the South Service Road running parallel to the LIE. Passenger vehicles looking to avoid the detour entirely are encouraged to use the Northern State Parkway as an alternate route. For the most current travel conditions, the NYSDOT recommends calling 511, visiting www.511NY.org, or downloading the free 511NY mobile app before departing.
The work is a pavement renewal project, suggesting resurfacing or structural roadway rehabilitation rather than emergency repair. The approximately two-week timeline for the nightly closures — starting July 6 and running through roughly July 20 — means the disruptions will overlap with the height of summer travel season in Nassau County, a period when the LIE typically sees elevated traffic volumes from beachgoers, commuters, and visitors heading to and from the East End of Long Island. The NYSDOT reminded drivers to slow down and move over for highway workers operating in the construction zone.
Location & Road Context
The closures fall on a well-traveled section of Interstate 495 in Nassau County, between the North Hills and East Hills villages in the Town of North Hempstead. This segment of the LIE connects commuters from the western end of Nassau County toward the Mid-Island and beyond. The Long Island Expressway is one of the most incident-prone roads in the region — our database records 1,495 incidents on I-495, including a crash with injuries on I-495 on July 4, 2026, multiple additional crashes on I-495 over the July 4th weekend, and a crash on I-495 on July 3 — just one day after this advisory was issued. Nassau County overall has 743 recorded accidents in our local incident database, underscoring the density of traffic events along this corridor.
The Northern State Parkway, recommended as the passenger-vehicle alternate, runs roughly parallel to the LIE through this part of Nassau County and provides a viable bypass for drivers who can access it before reaching the closed section. Trucks and commercial vehicles are generally restricted from the parkway, however, meaning they will need to rely on the South Service Road detour.
Broader Impact
Pavement renewal projects of this nature on the LIE are typically coordinated for overnight hours precisely to minimize peak-hour disruption, but the two-week window spanning mid-July means the closures will intersect with some of the highest-traffic summer weeknights of the year on Long Island. Drivers planning early-morning eastbound travel — particularly those heading to the Hamptons, North Shore destinations, or Nassau-Suffolk border points — should account for the 10 p.m.–5 a.m. closure window and consider the Northern State Parkway alternate route or adjust departure times accordingly. Construction conditions remain fluid, and the NYSDOT advises checking 511NY for real-time updates before any overnight trip through this stretch of Interstate 495.
Updates
- Jul 8, 2026: Additional reporting merged into this article: “Crash on Northern State Parkway” (via 511ny)
- Jul 8, 2026: Additional reporting merged into this article: “Crash on I-495” (via 511ny)