Incident location, Long Island
What Happened
Long Island’s roads and major arteries into New York City slowed to a crawl on Saturday during the first day of the Long Island Rail Road strike, with Newsday reporting traffic came to a near standstill on the westbound Long Island Expressway near exits 33-32. LIRR trains came to a halt early Saturday after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and labor unions representing about half of the railroad’s unionized workforce failed to strike a deal on a new contract.
Vehicle travel times shot up dramatically across Long Island, according to Google traffic data cited by Newsday. As of around 4 p.m. Saturday, a trip from Ronkonkoma to Penn Station took about two hours—a 45-minute increase compared with typical conditions. From Babylon to Penn Station, the ride that typically takes 69 minutes was also taking around two hours.
Transportation experts warned Saturday’s delays were just a preview of what’s to come if the strike continues into the workweek. “I think gridlocks like we’ve never seen before will happen,” Robert Sinclair Jr., senior manager of public affairs at AAA Northeast, told Newsday. “There really are no good alternatives.”
The LIRR system moves an average of 270,000 commuters on a weekday and around 130,000 each day of the weekend. Kelly McGuinness, director of the Sam Schwartz Transportation Research Program at Hunter College, said weekend service on the LIRR has been increasing recently, likely triggering complications for many would-be riders on Saturday who were forced onto the roads instead.
While experts acknowledged that ideal weather, crashes and other road issues can all affect traffic beyond just the halted rail service, they predicted Saturday’s conditions were a precursor to tortuous driving Monday if the strike continues. “It’s going to swell the LIE,” McGuinness said, advising commuters to “plan for extra time.”
Location & Road Context
The most severe delays were reported on the westbound Long Island Expressway, particularly near exits 33-32, where traffic came to a virtual standstill. The LIE serves as the primary highway corridor connecting Long Island’s eastern and central communities to New York City, making it especially vulnerable to capacity overload when rail alternatives disappear.
Major arteries feeding into Manhattan from Nassau and Suffolk counties all experienced significant slowdowns as displaced rail commuters shifted to driving. The weekend timing meant many recreational travelers were also competing for road space with stranded LIRR passengers.