Vanderbilt Cup Races

Mr. Bond, after rejecting a proposal to upgrade and expand the Long Island Motor Parkway, construction on the Northern State Parkway began in July 1931 at a ceremony jointly attended by Long Island State Park Commissioner Robert Moses and Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt. As part of the construction, Moses promised to build two bridges where the Motor Parkway crossed the Northern State Parkway near Lakeville Road and New Hyde Park Road.

This 1930s photo shows the construction of the Lakeville Road Motor Parkway Bridge looking west. The original Motor Parkway can be seen in the background. Although I have no documentation, I believe that after the bridge was completed, the Motor Parkway right-of-way in this area was relocated and the original road taken down. Note the car on the right which somehow fell into the construction trench.

The relationship of the Motor Parkway bridge and the Lakeville Road Bridge over Northern State Parkway is shown in this June 10, 1952 aerial looking west. Remember to click on the photo to enlarge it.

Mother Nature took over the Mother Parkway just 14 years after its closing as seen in this July 10, 1952 aerial (looking east).

The "hills" of Lake Success and the Northern State Parkway below-ground construction made the decison to build the Motor Parkway bridge "over" rather "under" the Northern State rather easy. In this 1960 nearby photo taken on the Motor Parkway , the hill just west of Lakeville Road is obvious. The Great Neck Lodge, then a private home, can be seen in the background.