West Hempstead Branch suspended and LIE westbound closed this weekend on Long Island

October 17–18, 2026 brings a full West Hempstead Branch suspension, a prolonged Long Island Expressway westbound closure, revised rail schedules on two branches, and events at UBS Arena and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum with associated road and rail traffic notices across Nassau and Suffolk counties.

25 scheduled road work and closure notices are in effect at some point this weekend, according to 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic, including 5 that 511NY describes as full road or ramp closures. The MTA LIRR service alerts feed, as recorded by Long Island Traffic at 10:40 a.m. on October 15, lists 4 planned-work and planned-service notices covering 5 branches or service areas.

West Hempstead Branch fully suspended through Monday morning

The MTA LIRR service alerts feed lists no West Hempstead Branch trains running from 12:01 a.m. Saturday October 17 to 4:00 a.m. Monday October 19. The MTA gives track maintenance as the reason, and categorizes the notice as a planned suspension. The MTA’s guidance states: bus service is available between Valley Stream and all stations Westwood through West Hempstead; for St. Albans, take Babylon Branch trains, which are making added stops. Long Island Traffic has recorded planned-work notices for the West Hempstead Branch on 4 earlier weekends since March 25, 2026, according to the MTA LIRR alert feed as recorded by Long Island Traffic.

LIE westbound fully closed between Exit 22A-E and Exit 20 Saturday night through Monday

511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic show the Long Island Expressway westbound between Exit 22A-E and Exit 20 in Queens closed to all lanes from 10:00 p.m. Saturday October 17 to 5:00 a.m. Monday October 19 for roadwork. That same stretch also has a separate 511NY notice listing a right-lane closure in both directions between Exit 22A-E and 906A from 11:00 p.m. Friday October 16 to 5:00 a.m. Saturday October 17.

Additional LIE closures touch the overnight hours on both sides of the weekend, per 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic:

Scheduled road work and closures in effect October 17–18, 2026, per 511NY (511NY wording; “In effect” lists each scheduled occurrence that touches Saturday or Sunday, Eastern time; 511NY data as of Thu 10/15 10:48 a.m.)

Four long-running work zones with no posted end date were also active in 511NY at 10:48 a.m. Thursday October 15, per 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic:

Long-running work zones with no posted end, per 511NY (active in 511NY at Thu 10/15 10:48 a.m.; 511NY posts no schedule or end time for these, so they may change or clear before or during the weekend)

Babylon and Montauk branches running on revised schedules

The MTA LIRR service alerts feed lists revised schedules for the Babylon Branch and Montauk Branch from 9:00 p.m. Friday October 16 to 3:00 a.m. Monday October 19, citing track maintenance. The MTA’s published schedule (GTFS feed GO202_26), as counted by Long Island Traffic, shows 118 trips on the Babylon Branch on both Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 18, against a typical Saturday and Sunday figure of 119 trips each. Long Island Traffic has recorded planned-work notices for the Babylon Branch on 15 earlier weekends and for the Montauk Branch on 9 earlier weekends since March 25, 2026, according to the MTA LIRR alert feed as recorded by Long Island Traffic. Riders should check live LIRR status for current conditions.

Extra Oyster Bay Branch trains running both days for Oyster Fest

The MTA LIRR service alerts feed lists extra trains on the Oyster Bay Branch for Oyster Fest attendees from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on both Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 18. The MTA’s guidance states: extra eastbound trains depart Jamaica at 9:19 a.m., 11:19 a.m., and 1:19 p.m.; extra westbound trains depart Oyster Bay at 11:55 a.m., 1:55 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 5:55 p.m. Tickets will be checked at Oyster Bay station. The MTA’s published schedule (GTFS feed GO202_26), as counted by Long Island Traffic, shows 25 scheduled trips on the Oyster Bay Branch on both Saturday and Sunday, against a typical figure of 18 trips each day.

UBS Arena and Nassau Coliseum events carry 511NY traffic notices both days

Four events at UBS Arena and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum carry 511NY special-event traffic notices this weekend, per 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic:

Events that 511NY or UBS Arena list for October 17–18, 2026 (start time as the venue lists it; the 511NY window is the special-event traffic notice as 511NY posted it; Eastern time)

PBR: Teams at UBS Arena (2400 Hempstead Turnpike, per the UBS Arena event calendar) begins at 6:45 p.m. Saturday October 17 and 1:45 p.m. Sunday October 18. The MTA LIRR service alerts feed also lists some trains making added stops at Forest Hills for concert attendees from 4:30 p.m. to 11:59 p.m. Saturday October 17. The MTA’s guidance states: riders must be in one of the first four cars on eastbound trains, and one of the first six cars on westbound trains, to exit at Forest Hills; tickets will be checked at the station. That car-position rule is a longer-running boarding change in effect until Summer 2027, according to the MTA LIRR service alerts feed.

The MTA’s published schedule (GTFS feed GO202_26), as counted by Long Island Traffic, shows trains scheduled at Elmont-UBS Arena on both UBS Arena event days:

LIRR trains scheduled to stop at Elmont-UBS Arena station on UBS Arena event days (MTA published schedule (GTFS); counted by Long Island Traffic; “before start” = the two hours before the start time UBS Arena lists)

The Meadowbrook State Parkway, which runs near UBS Arena, carries a 511NY bridge maintenance notice with the left lane closed in both directions between 909D and Exit M9E from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. on Friday-into-Saturday, Saturday-into-Sunday, and Sunday-into-Monday nights, per 511NY records stored by Long Island Traffic.

How we measured this

• Roads: Long Island Traffic records the 511NY traffic feed (New York State DOT) about once an hour. This outlook uses only the notices present in the latest recording (Thu 10/15 10:48 a.m.). A road notice is listed when its posted 511NY schedule has an occurrence between 12:00 a.m. Saturday October 17 and 11:59 p.m. Sunday October 18. Road names, locations, lane wording and schedules are 511NY’s.
• Reading 511NY schedules: each “From [start] to [end] [dates] on [days]” line is one occurrence per listed day, starting that day; when the end time is earlier than the start time, the occurrence runs past midnight into the next morning. A Friday-night occurrence that runs past midnight therefore appears as in effect early Saturday.
• Events: UBS Arena events come from the arena’s own event calendar; events at UBS Arena and Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum also come from 511NY special-event traffic notices. A calendar event and a 511NY notice for the same venue and date are shown as one row. Event names are as the venue or 511NY lists them.
• Elmont-UBS Arena trains: Long Island Traffic counted the trips in the MTA’s published LIRR schedule that stop at Elmont-UBS Arena on each UBS Arena event day, by the MTA’s train destination, in total and in the two hours before the start time UBS Arena lists.
• LIRR planned work: Long Island Traffic read the MTA’s live LIRR alert feed as of 10:40 a.m. on October 15 (Eastern time) and kept every planned-work notice scheduled to be in effect at any time between 12:00 a.m. Saturday October 17 and 11:59 p.m. Sunday October 18. What changes, when and why are the MTA’s words.
• LIRR branch or area is the MTA route named in each notice, using the MTA’s own route names (including “City Terminal Zone” and “Greenport Service”).
• Scheduled trips: Long Island Traffic downloaded the MTA’s published LIRR schedule (GTFS feed GO202_26, service dates October 14 to November 8, 2026) and counted trips per route on Saturday October 17 and Sunday October 18, against the median of the other 3 Saturdays and Sundays in the same file.
• History: Long Island Traffic has stored every LIRR alert in the MTA feed since March 25, 2026. A weekend counts for a branch when a stored planned-work notice for that branch was scheduled to be in effect on that Saturday or Sunday; extra-service notices and changes lasting more than 14 days at a stretch are not counted.

Limitations

• Only road work posted in 511NY is listed; work announced elsewhere, or added to 511NY after the snapshot time, is not included. 511NY can also remove or change a notice at any time.
• Queens rows appear only on Long Island corridors such as the Long Island Expressway (the rule Long Island Traffic uses when recording 511NY).
• A 511NY special-event notice window is the period 511NY posted for the notice; it can start earlier or end later than the event and may differ from the start time the venue lists. Both are shown as published.
• Elmont-UBS Arena train counts come from the published schedule; extra event trains or skipped stops announced in MTA alerts may not be reflected in it.
• The MTA adds, changes and cancels planned work up to the last minute; the LIRR list reflects the feed as of 10:40 a.m. on October 15 (Eastern time).
• The published schedule file does not reflect every planned change: it lists the usual number of trips this weekend for West Hempstead Branch, although the MTA alert says service there is suspended. Riders should go by the alert.
• The history uses the first version of each notice Long Island Traffic stored; a notice the MTA later changed or withdrew still counts.

Sources

• 511NY traffic events (New York State DOT), as recorded by Long Island Traffic
• UBS Arena event calendar
• MTA LIRR service alerts feed (GTFS-realtime), live snapshot
• MTA LIRR published schedule (GTFS static, feed GO202_26)
• MTA LIRR alert feed as recorded by Long Island Traffic