The Freeport–Roslyn Expressway (also known as the Freeport–Roslyn Express Highway) was a proposed north–south limited-access highway, that would have run between

Freeport Freeport, a variant of free port, may refer to: Places United States *Freeport, California *Freeport, Florida *Freeport, Illinois *Freeport, Indiana *Freeport, Iowa *Freeport, Kansas *Freeport, Maine, a New England town **Freeport (CDP), Maine, the ...

and East Hills, in the vicinity of Roslyn, on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, in the State of New York. It was cancelled due to community opposition and associated highway revolts. Instead, the

Meadowbrook State Parkway The Meadowbrook State Parkway (also known as the Meadowbrook, the Meadowbrook Parkway or the MSP) is a parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United States. Its southern terminus is at a full cloverleaf interchange with the Bay and Ocean par ...

, which had its northern terminus on the Freeport- Merrick border, was extended to Roslyn, where it meets the Northern State Parkway.

History

The Freeport–Roslyn Expressway was proposed in 1951, and would have been a "cross-island feeder"—or "leg"—of the Horrace Harding (Long Island) Expressway's extension to Roslyn (and eventually to Riverhead). The highway would have featured a total of 10 lanes, and had an estimated price tag of $40,000,000 (equivalent to $ in ). Though the plans were supported by Freeport's Northeast Civic Association, citing economic benefits, the expressway was quickly met with fierce community opposition, notably by the Freeport–Roslyn Expressway Protest Committee, which successfully garnered tens of thousands of signatures, as well as nearly $20,000 (equivalent to $ in ), from people that were against the expressway's construction. This led to the Freeport–Roslyn Expressway proposal being postponed by Nassau County c. March 1952, and ultimately being cancelled that October. The Meadowbrook was extended from Freeport to Roslyn instead, completed in 1956.

Route description

Southern segment: Freeport to Baldwin

The section of the expressway between

and

Baldwin Baldwin is a Germanic name, composed of the elements ''bald'' "bold" and ''win'' "friend". People * Baldwin (name) Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, Qu ...

would have been located parallel (and adjacent) to Milburn Creek. Its southern terminus would be located at Atlantic Avenue. It would follow the creek and Brookside Avenue, traverse the former Milburn Golf Club, and go along the Baldwin side of Milburn reservoir. In addition to running adjacent to Milburn Creek, this routing would have also straddled the school district boundaries, meaning students would not need to cross to the other side of the expressway to get to and/or from school.

Middle segment

The middle segment would have brought the expressway through the heart of Nassau County, providing access to places such as Hempstead, Garden City, Roosevelt Field, and Mineola.

Northern segment

The northern segment would have followed (or paralleled) the alignment of Glen Cove Road, connecting to the Long Island Expressway (its parent route) in East Hills, in the vicinity of Roslyn.

References