October 12–18, 2026, brought 30 planned full closures for roadwork or events on Nassau and Suffolk roads, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. The same records show that 25 of those 30 started overnight, between 10 p.m. and 5:59 a.m.
511NY listed 1 unplanned full closure during the week, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. It was a closure on the westbound Wantagh State Parkway in Hempstead that 511NY attributed to a crash, and 511NY listed it for 1.2 hours Sunday morning.
Long Island Expressway led planned full 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 and the Southern State Parkway each had 5 planned full closures, according to the same records. The Wantagh State Parkway had 4. Harbor Rd, NY 110 and the Robert Moses Causeway each had 1.
Full closures by road (top 10)
| Road | Unplanned | Planned (roadwork or events) |
|---|---|---|
| Wantagh State Parkway | 1 | 4 |
| Long Island Expressway | 0 | 8 |
| NY 25A | 0 | 5 |
| NY 878 | 0 | 5 |
| Southern State Parkway | 0 | 5 |
| Harbor Rd | 0 | 1 |
| NY 110 | 0 | 1 |
| Robert Moses Causeway | 0 | 1 |
The westbound Long Island Expressway between Exit 39 - Glen Cove Road (North Hempstead) and Exit 31N-S was listed 4 times for a total of 20.4 hours, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. Its longest single listing was 6.7 hours.
Other stretches were listed twice each, according to the same records:
- NY 878 southbound, between the start of NY 878 (Nassau Expressway) and Exit 3: 12.3 total hours.
- NY 25A westbound, between NY 112 and NY 111; NY 25: 12 total hours.
- Southern State Parkway eastbound, between 908K and Exit 42N - CR 13 (Islip): 11.9 total hours.
- Wantagh State Parkway westbound, between 908G and NY 106: 11.7 total hours.
- Long Island Expressway eastbound, between Exit 42 - Northern State Parkway (Jericho) and Exit 48 - Round Swamp Road (Oyster Bay): 10.9 total hours.
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 |
25 of 30 planned closures started overnight
511NY reported 25 planned full closures starting overnight, between 10 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., according to records stored by Long Island Traffic.
The same records show 2 planned full closures starting in the morning, from 6 to 9:59 a.m. They show 3 starting in the afternoon and evening, from 3 to 9:59 p.m. No planned full closures started at midday.
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.) | 0 | 25 |
| Morning (6–9:59 a.m.) | 1 | 2 |
| Midday (10 a.m.–2:59 p.m.) | 0 | 0 |
| Afternoon and evening (3–9:59 p.m.) | 0 | 3 |
Robert Moses Causeway special event listed 8 hours
The longest single planned listing was a special event on the westbound Robert Moses Causeway in Islip, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. The closure ran between Ocean Parkway; Captree State Park and Exit RM2E - NY 27A; Montauk Highway.
511NY listed that closure for 8 hours, from 6:58 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Sunday, October 18, the records show.
Wantagh State Parkway crash closure listed 1.2 hours
511NY reported the week’s 1 unplanned full closure on the westbound Wantagh State Parkway at Exit W3E - Hempstead Turnpike in Hempstead, according to records stored by Long Island Traffic. 511NY gave the cause as “Crash.”
511NY listed the closure for 1.2 hours, from 8:12 a.m. to 9:26 a.m. Sunday, October 18, the records show. It was in Nassau County. 511NY records show 0 unplanned full closures in Suffolk County during the week.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wantagh State Parkway | Westbound | at Exit W3E - Hempstead Turnpike (Hempstead) | Crash | Sun 10/18 8:12 a.m. | Sun 10/18 9:26 a.m. | 1.2 |
Unplanned closures averaged 0.1 per day this week
Unplanned full closures averaged 0.1 per day over the 7 days counted this week, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic. They averaged 1.5 per day over the 24 days counted in the previous four weeks, the same records show.
Those earlier weeks straddle Long Island Traffic’s October 2, 2026, switch to 511NY’s new system. Records before and after that date come from different versions of the 511NY feed.
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 | 1 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 30 |
| October 5–11, 2026 | 7 | 2 | 0.3 | 3.5 | 26 |
| September 28–October 4, 2026 | 4 | 3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 18 |
| 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.
- A closure counts as unplanned or planned only when 511NY gave a cause. Records that say only “Road closed” are reported as “cause not listed” and counted as neither.
- 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 and Oct 2, 2026 (a 511NY outage or capture gap). Those days are left out; 7 days are counted this week and 24 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.
Correction, Nov. 2, 2026: An earlier version described five closures this week as unplanned. 511NY listed four of them as roadwork or a special event; only one, a crash on the Wantagh State Parkway, was unplanned.