Great South Bay Bridge
Encyclopedia
Robert Moses Causeway
The Robert Moses Causeway is an long parkway in Suffolk County, New York. The parkway, originally known as the Captree Causeway, connects West Islip on Long Island to the barrier beach islands, such as Captree Island, Jones Beach Island, and the western tip of Fire Island, to the south. It is...
from Long Island's mainland over the Great South Bay
Great South Bay
Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is approximately long. It's protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire Island, a barrier island, as well as the eastern end of Jones Beach Island and Captree Island.Robert Moses Causeway adjoins...
, connecting to both Captree and Jones Beach Island
Jones Beach Island
Jones Beach Island is one of the outer barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is named for the father of Thomas Jones. It is sometimes referred to as Oak Beach Island, and the former home of the infamous Oak Beach Inn. It is separated from Long...
s on the southwest central side of Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
New York.
The Great South Bay Bridge serves as access via The Robert Moses Causeway to both the Captree Island draw bridge and the Fire Island Inlet Bridge
Fire Island Inlet Bridge
The Fire Island Inlet Bridge, an integral part of the Robert Moses Causeway, is a two-lane, steel arch span with a concrete deck that carries Route 908 over Fire Island Inlet....
, leading visitors and on-lookers to either the Fire Island Lighthouse
Fire Island Lighthouse
The Fire Island Light is a visible landmark on the Great South Bay, in southern Suffolk County, New York on the western end of Fire Island, a barrier island off the southern coast of Long Island...
or the Robert Moses State Park
Robert Moses State Park (Long Island)
Robert Moses State Park - Long Island is a state park that is located in the state of New York.The park lies in southern Suffolk County on the western end of Fire Island, one of the central barrier Islands off the southern coast of Long Island...
.
Ocean Parkway runs parallel along Jones Beach Island giving access to a host of barrier Island
Jones Beach Island
Jones Beach Island is one of the outer barrier islands off the southern coast of Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. It is named for the father of Thomas Jones. It is sometimes referred to as Oak Beach Island, and the former home of the infamous Oak Beach Inn. It is separated from Long...
Ocean beaches, including the world famous Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park
Jones Beach State Park is a state park of the U.S. state of New York. It is located in southern Nassau County, in the hamlet of Wantagh, on Jones Beach Island, a barrier island linked to Long Island by the Meadowbrook State Parkway, Wantagh State Parkway and Ocean Parkway .The park is renowned for...
.
History
The design of the twin bridges is a through truss. The two-lane southbound causeway across Great South Bay opened in 1954 and originally carried two-way traffic. The three-lane northbound bridge opened in 1968, after which the original structure was converted to accommodate one-way southbound traffic. The original bridge was reconstructed between 1997 and 2000.The dimensions are:
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Average daily traffic (as of 2007) is - 7,659