Bethpage State Parkway

The Bethpage State Parkway southbound approaching exit B1, the Southern State Parkway in North Massapequa

The Bethpage State Parkway was developed as part of a plan proposed by Robert Moses in 1924 that would help people travel in private automobiles from New York City to state parks proposed by the Long Island State Park Commission (LISPC). Moses, president of the LISPC, saw this as a personal mission, having owned a residence in Babylon. While the LISPC was formed to get more state parks, Moses was more focused on building roadways to get to them. Development throughout Nassau County had become common: with a 441% increase in population from 1900 to 1930, it was becoming more urgent to secure open land for parks. The agency was given the right to condemn land for these parks, which led to conflict with locals and other agencies who felt it isolated them from getting money in the development craze.[6] Bethpage State Park was created from land originally owned by Benjamin Yoakum, a railroad executive. In 1923, Yoakum opened a golf course on the land with 18 holes and a country club. Eight years later, in 1931, the LISPC leased the property from Yoakum. It was made into public land a year later, at which point the property was renamed the Bethpage Golf Club.[6] On May 24, 1934, the land which had become Bethpage State Park was sold to the LISPC.[7]

In similarity to parkways designed to access Jones Beach State Park, Moses designed the Bethpage State Parkway as a road that would have a rustic environment. This would include the use of wooden light posts instead of steel, wooden guide rails, and concrete overpasses designed with a stone face. Along with these designs, Moses also confirmed that the parkways would remain free of commercial vehicles and truck traffic. The parkway was designed with a line of woodlands alongside both 22-foot (6.7 m) lanes. Construction began on the parkway in 1934[6] even though a date of completion for the rest of the Long Island parkway system—which the Bethpage was intended to connect to—had yet to be established.[7] On November 14, 1936, the recreational parkway was opened to traffic along with the Laurelton Parkway in Queens.[2] Automobiles lined up at the Southern State Parkway in North Massapequa to travel the new parkway, which cost a total of $1.05 million (1936 USD). The ceremonial ribbon was cut at noon, after which Moses spoke praise to the federal government for its assistance and discussed how Bethpage State Park was previously inaccessible. The event was followed by a luncheon at the park.[8]

During the opening, Moses was already proposing plans to extend the Bethpage southward to NY 27 and Merrick Road in Massapequa. The right-of-way for this new parkway was to cross Massapequa State Park, and as a result, Moses saw no trouble in acquiring the right-of-way. Moses proposed building interchanges at Merrick Road, which would have been a trumpet interchange, and NY 27, which would have been a full cloverleaf. The interchange with the Southern State Parkway would have been upgraded to a full cloverleaf. The design of the extension would be different than that of the original Bethpage Parkway, however, as the designs were refined in the 1950s to make the current parkway and extension a four-lane divided highway instead of the two-lane undivided design used in the 1930s.[9]

In the 1970s, a new bike path was constructed alongside the entire length of the Bethpage State Parkway. The path also continued south to Merrick Road by way of the right-of-way formerly proposed for the Bethpage Parkway's southern extension.[10]

On May 20, 1961, a new parkway was proposed by the LISPC to connect the Northern State Parkway to the proposed Caumsett State Park, the site of a wildlife refuge and arboretum. The parkway would be constructed as a northern extension of the Bethpage State Parkway, using filled land to traverse Cold Spring Harbor. It also required the condemning of a Standard Oil Company tank farm to avoid demolishing high-priced homes, which were to be taken via the three alternate routes proposed.[11] In 1965, the LISPC proposed that the four-lane parkway wind through Cold Spring Harbor and enter the village of Lloyd Harbor. Three years later, however, the LISPC said all they proposed was a scenic and landscaped two-lane road in the future. Conservationists of the Caumsett estate worried that the plans were too vague; furthermore, they believed that Caumsett should not be turned into a major-use facility like that of Jones Beach State Park on the southern shore.[12]

Extending the Bethpage northward was a requirement for building the new parkway, and four new interchanges were proposed for the Bethpage Parkway. The first, exit B5, would be at NY 135 (the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway). With this new interchange, the traffic circle with Plainview Road in Bethpage State Park would be eliminated. Other junctions included a diamond interchange for Plainview Avenue and Bethpage State Park, a full cloverleaf interchange with Old Country Road, and a partial cloverleaf interchange with the Long Island Expressway (then-NY 495). North of there, the new Caumsett exits would be a full cloverleaf interchange with the Northern State Parkway, a diamond interchange with NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike) and an interchange with NY 25A and NY 108.[13] After the NY 25A interchange, the parkway would continue north into Caumsett State Park and end at a traffic circle at the southern end of the park.[14]

In 1990, the Long Island Regional Planning Board proposed a new parkway extension to NY 25A in Cold Spring Harbor as part of a 20-year highway improvement program. However, funding sources were not specified.[15] As part of the Long Island Transportation Plan 2000, the New York State Department of Transportation proposed that the Bethpage be extended northwest to NY 135 in Bethpage.[16] In 1987, however, the Long Island Greenbelt Trail Conference proposed that the right-of-way for the Caumsett become part of a new Greenbelt trail.[17] In September 2002, Governor George Pataki announced the opening of Trail View State Park, a new, linear 400-acre (160 ha) state park using the former Bethpage and Caumsett right-of-way. The park also included a 7.4-mile (11.9 km) trail.[18]

The New York State Department of Transportation is currently constructing the Bethpage Bikeway, a multi-use trail extending 5.8 miles (9.3 km) northward from Bethpage State Park to the Syosset station on the Long Island Rail Road. Part of the path will use a former alignment of the Long Island Motor Parkway.[19] The proposed bike trail will cost $6.49 million (2012 USD) and was expected to be completed on July 3, 2012. The contract is slated to expire on December 30, 2012.[20]

The map on the right shows the built segment of the Bethpage State Parkway (black) and the unbuilt segments of the Bethpage Parkway and unbuilt Caumsett Parkway (red).

• The Bethpage State Parkway's Unbuilt Northern Extension
• 
  The Bethpage Parkway's current northern terminus at the traffic circle in Bethpage.
• 
  Exit 38 on the Northern State Parkway in Plainview, west of where the Bethpage and Caumsett state parkways were to meet.
• 
  The Bethpage Bikeway is built along much of the unbuilt extension's route.

If ever built, the Bethpage State Parkway extension to the Caumsett State Parkway would have the following interchanges, beginning at the northern terminus of the Bethpage Parkway. The entire route would have been in Nassau County.

Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Bethpage			B4	Bethpage State Parkway south	Bethpage Parkway continues south
			B5	NY 135 (Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway)	Same-directional scissor ramps
			B6	Plainview Road / Broadway – Bethpage State Park
Plainview			B7	Old Country Road (CR 25)
			B8	I-495 (Long Island Expressway)	Proposed exit 47 on I-495
West Hills			C1	Northern State Parkway	Proposed exit 38 on Northern Parkway; road name changes from Bethpage to Caumsett
			C2	NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike)
Cold Spring Harbor			C3	NY 25A (Main Street) / NY 108 (Harbor Road)
Lloyd Harbor			C4	Caumsett State Park	Proposed northern terminus
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Route transition