Long Island Expressway To Get Its First Full Rest Stop By September
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Long Island Expressway commuters will finally have some relief.
CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported the LIE is getting its first full rest stop by September.
"I think that's the best news I've heard in a couple of months," one commuter said.
Another said, "It's something that should have been done a long time ago."
Bulldozers broke ground for a 15,000 square-foot Long Island Welcome Center which will be eastbound between exit 51 and 52 in Dix Hills, where an old tourist stop had no facilities.
The rest stop will have 30 bathrooms, electric car charging, satellite police offices, 24-hour security cameras, parking for 135 cars, and a Taste New York kiosk with local products.
"An opportunity to promote the agri-business of New York, we feel this fits very well here on the LIE," New York Department of Transportation spokesman Gary Holmes said.
However, no trucks or buses will be allowed at the rest stop.
Dix Hills residents, who fended off a truck stop with spewing fumes a decade ago, were recently blindsided when the Department of Transportation started work without notification.
There was a compromise as trucks and buses will be rerouted further east to lots with only portable toilets. The westbound area across from the new rest stop will close, but concerns still linger.
"Who knows when they put a food thing right there, who will it attract? What's going to go on in the middle of the night?" one resident said.
Residents also reluctantly agreed to give up their threatened lawsuit as they were concerned the federal government can force the state to allow trucks and buses here down the road.
Construction is expected to take less than five months. The rest stop will not sell gas or have hot food concessions.
