County Route 4 is a major, county road connecting Merrick and Old Westbury, in Nassau County, on

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. The unsigned, north-south county route consists of Merrick Avenue, Post Avenue, and Post Road. CR 4, in its entirety, is owned by Nassau County and is maintained by the

Nassau County Department of Public Works Nassau County ( ) is a suburban County (United States), county located on Long Island, immediately to the east of New York City, bordering the Long Island Sound on the north and the open Atlantic Ocean to the south. As of the 2020 United St ...

Route description

Merrick Road to Old Country Road

County Route 4 begins at Merrick Road (CR 27) in Merrick. From there, it heads north-northwest, eventually intersecting Sunrise Highway (NY 27), before crossing underneath the

Merrick station Merrick is a station on the Babylon Branch of the Long Island Rail Road. It is officially located on Sunrise Highway, between Hewlett Avenue and Merrick Avenue, in Merrick, New York. However, the parking areas for the station expand well beyond ...

on the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , or LIRR, is a Rail transport, railroad in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County on Long Islan ...

Babylon Branch The Babylon Branch is a rail service operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The term refers to the trains serving Montauk Branch stations from Valley Stream east to Babylon; in other words, the Babylon Branch is a ...

and reaching Bedford Avenue. The road then continues north-northwest, passing the Chatterson School before intersecting Smith Street. It then continues north-northwest from there, soon intersecting Loines Avenue before passing Merrick Avenue Middle School, thence reaching Camp Avenue shortly thereafter, entering North Merrick. CR 4 then continues north-northwest, passes the Camp Avenue School, eventually reaching Old Mill Road before crossing over the

Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway) is a controlled-access parkway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt and Cross Island parkways ...

, with which it interchanges via exit 24. Just north of its interchange with the Southern State Parkway, CR 4 intersects with Jerusalem Avenue (CR 105), before continuing north-northeast and eventually reaching – and intersecting with – North Jerusalem Road (CR 181), at which point Merrick Avenue enters

East Meadow East Meadow is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in central Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 36,856 per the 2024 Census estimates. Many residents commute to Manhatta ...

. After this intersection, CR 4, still heading north-northwest, soon reaches a junction with Bellmore Avenue (CR 26), which merges into Merrick Avenue at this location. From there, County Route 4 continues north-northwest, intersecting with several local streets, before reaching its intersection with Front Street (NY 102). CR 4, north of this intersection, continues north-northwest, intersecting Glenn Curtiss Boulevard (CR C93) and thence reaching Hempstead Turnpike (NY 24) shortly thereafter – still running straight and towards the north-northwest. North of Hempstead Turnpike (NY 24), CR 4 continues straight and towards the north-northwest, now forming the western boundary of

Eisenhower Park Eisenhower Park, formerly known as Salisbury Park, is a public park in East Meadow, New York bordered by Hempstead Turnpike on the south and Old Country Road on the north. At , it is larger than Central Park (in Manhattan, New York City), with m ...

and serving as a frontage road for the

Meadowbrook State Parkway The Meadowbrook State Parkway (also known as the Meadowbrook, the Meadowbrook Parkway, Meadowbrook Causeway, or the MSP) is a controlled-access highway, controlled-access Parkways in New York, parkway in Nassau County, New York, in the United S ...

. It then reaches Charles Lindbergh Boulevard (CR C28) at the Mitchel Field Interchange (exit M4 of the Meadowbrook State Parkway).The History of Mitchel Field, The Cradle of Aviation Museum
CR 4 continues north-northwest from this intersection, still along the border of Eisenhower Park and as the parkway's frontage road, until it reaches an intersection with Stewart Avenue (CR 177) and Park Boulevard (CR D82) – the latter of which is the main thoroughfare through Eisenhower Park; the Meadowbrook State Parkway curves towards the west at this location, away from Merrick Avenue. From here, CR 4 continues north-northwest along the western edge of Eisenhower Park, eventually intersecting Corporate Drive (CR C48), before reaching Old Country Road (CR 25) at the East Meadow– Westbury line (which, in turn, is also the boundary between the

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

of Hempstead and North Hempstead); CR 4 continues north from here as Post Avenue.

Old Country Road to Wheatley Road

At the Old Country Road intersection, CR 4 veers towards the north-northeast, with Merrick Avenue becoming Post Avenue; this intersection marks the first major change in the CR 4's heading, with the road having followed roughly the same, straight heading between Merrick Road and Old Country Road. Now in Westbury, CR 4 continues north-northeast, passing the

Cemetery of the Holy Rood The Cemetery of the Holy Rood is a Catholic Church, Catholic cemetery located in Westbury, New York. The cemetery, established in 1930, is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre. History ...

and intersecting several local streets, before crossing underneath the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road just west of the Westbury station, thence intersecting with Union Avenue (CR 63) on the north side of the underpass, now in downtown Westbury. North of this intersection, CR 4 continues north-northeast through Westbury's downtown as its main north-south thoroughfare, soon intersecting Maple Avenue (CR D44), thence intersecting several additional local streets before eventually reaching Wilson Avenue, at which point Post Avenue curves towards the northeast. Shortly after the intersection with Wilson Avenue, CR 4 crosses over the

Northern State Parkway The Northern State Parkway (also known as the Northern State or Northern Parkway) is a controlled-access parkway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The western terminus is at the Queens– Nassau County line in Lake Success � ...

, with which Post Avenue interchanges via exit 32. After crossing over – and interchanging with – the Northern State Parkway, CR 4 reaches an intersection with Park Avenue and Advent Place, where it curves back towards the north-northwest. Shortly thereafter, Post Avenue intersects with Jericho Turnpike (NY 25) and enters Old Westbury; Post Avenue becomes Post Road at this location. North of NY 25, CR 4 continues north through Old Westbury, passing Westbury High School and passing several

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, before winding its way around Old Westbury Pond and, shortly thereafter, intersecting the South Service Road of the Long Island Expressway (I-495). CR 4 then passes underneath the Long Island Expressway and, immediately thereafter, intersects the North Service Road (Store Hill Road). It then continues north, meandering through the area, and eventually reaches Wheatley Road (CR E60) – its northern terminus. North of this intersection, CR 4 (Post Road) continues north as CR E60 (Wheatley Road).

History

Like all of the other county routes in Nassau County, CR 4 became unsigned in the 1970s, when Nassau County officials opted to remove the signs as opposed to allocating the funds for replacing them with new ones that met the latest federal design standards and requirements, as per the federal government's

Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices The ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways'' (usually referred to as the ''Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices'', abbreviated MUTCD) is a document issued by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) of the Unit ...

. When Nassau County first signed its highways in 1959, CR 4 continued north from its current terminus to Chicken Valley Road (CR C39) in

Matinecock Matinecock is a village located within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 810 at the 2010 census. History Matinecock incorporated as a village on April 2, 1928, in order t ...

, via Wheatley Road (present-day CR E60) and Wolver Hollow Road (CR E65). The route was truncated to the intersection of Post Road and Wheatley Road following the removal of the signs, after which the route numbering system was overhauled. In the 1960s, the Nassau County Department of Public Works reconstructed the Merrick Avenue section of CR 4 between Hempstead Turnpike and Old Country Road. When first announced in June 1960, the reconstruction project, which saw the segment of CR 4 be widened, was estimated to cost $750,000 (1960

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

). In October 2017, the Long Island Rail Road replaced the original train bridge over Post Avenue. The old bridge, constructed during a 1914 rebuild of the Main Line through Westbury, had an clearance; the bridge was hit by between five and nine high trucks per year between 2010 and 2016, causing numerous train delays in both directions. While the previous bridge was 103 years old, it was still considered to be in good condition. However, the bridge had to be replaced in preparation for the LIRR Third Track Project; the new span has a clearance and carries three tracks.

Major intersections

References

External links

* {{County routes in Nassau County, New York

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Roads on Long Island Transportation in Nassau County, New York