VanderbiltCupRaces.com Exclusive: The 100 Planned Bridges Over & Under the Long Island Motor Parkway
Brian McCarthy has forwarded this question: How many Motor Parkway bridges were planned but never built?
Brian, great question! In response, for the first time, below is an inventory of the 100 bridges that were planned to go over and under the Long Island Motor Parkway. A total of 64 bridges were actually for the Motor Parkway, while 36 bridges were planned but never built.
Enjoy,
Howard Kroplick
The 60 Bridges built by the Long Island Motor Parkway, Inc.
As documented on VanderbiltCupRaces.com, a total of 60 bridges were built by the Long Island Motor Parkway from 1908 to 1926. Most of the bridges were given a "station number" to indicate their location.
Bridge Type: Parkway- The Motor Parkway was on top of the bridge going over a road.
Bridge Type: Highway- The Motor Parkway went under the bridge.
Bridge Type: Farmway- The Motor Parkway went under this smaller bridge that connected two sections of a farm. Most farmway bridges had wood railings.
Bridge Type: Parkway/Trolley- The Motor Parkway was on top of the bridge going over a road and trolley line.
Bridge Type: Railroad- The Motor Parkway was on top of the bridge going over a railroad line.
Bridge Type: Parkway/Railroad- The Motor Parkway was on top of the bridge going over the Central Railroad and Central Avenue in Bethpage.
Bridge Type- Golfway- The Motor Parkway went under this bridge that split the Wheatley Hills Golf Club in East Williston.
36 Bridges Planned by the Motor Parkway But Never Built
When the Motor Parkway acquired the right-of-way in 1907 to 1910, they made committments to build an additional 36 bridges. However, due to financial problems, these bridges were never built.
This September 10, 1910 Motor Parkway document listed 31 of the planned bridges that never were built. Courtesy of the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum.
This survey indicated where the " highway" bridges were planned for "New Road" and Bridge Road in Central Islip.
The blueprint for the "highway" bridges over "Parkway at Wicks or Commack Road" that were never built.
Four Bridges that Were Not Built by the Motor Parkway
These four Motor Parkway Bridges were not built by the Long Island Motor Parkway, Inc.
The Motor Parkway Bridge built over the Northern State Parkway near Lakeville Road by New York State in 1931.
The Motor Parkway Bridge built over the Northern State Parkway near New Hyde Park Road built by New York State in 1931.
The Motor Parkway Bridge (lower left corner) built over Wantagh State Parkway built by New York State in 1938.
In the late 1920s, the Meadowbrook Polo Club purchased property north of the Motor Parkway and built another polo field. The club built their own bridge to the polo field parallel to the Roosevelt Field Motor Parkway Bridge.
Comments
Can we build replicas of these someday?
Wow, thank you Howard. I’ll have to let all these locations sink into my imagination for a while. Most of the roads where whatever type bridges were to be built are still in existence presently . And there was so much farmland at that time for farmway bridges to make sense to be built. Perhaps Bridge Rd in Hauppauge derived it’s name from the bridge that was never built. It seems that the naming of most roads, streets, etc on Long Island have a bit of history beyond it.
With a name like “Shinbone Alley”, I wanted to see if the path still existed. This road is now Shinbone La, Smithtown. Runs N/O Vanderbilt Motor Pkwy, and it’s just S/O Redleaf La. After viewing older maps of this area, Shinbone Alley use to continue well S/O the LIMP.