County Route 58 (Suffolk County, New York)

Infobox NY County Route
county=Suffolk
route=58
road_name=Old Country Road
length_mi=4.5
length_round=1
length_ref= [ [http://www.greaternyroads.info/pdfs/suffcr.pdf Suffolk County Department of Public Works] ]
established=1936
direction_a=west
starting_terminus=Jct|state=NY|NY|25 near Calverton
junction=Jct|state=NY|I|495 near Calverton
direction_b=east
ending_terminus=

Suffolk County Route 58 is highway that serves as a northern bypass of the section of NY 25 that runs through the downtown area of Riverhead. Built through what were once relatively desolate fields, the road is now home to several large shopping centers and big box stores, and as such, has become, at least on the weekends, even more choked than the road it is supposed to bypass. [ [http://www.riverheadli.com/impact-statement.pdf Town of Riverhead Comprehensive Plan] (pages 62, 63)]

Route description

The highway starts at the sprawling junction of NY 25 and I-495, as a four-lane divided highway. The western split between NY 25 and CR 58 is entirely grade-separated with turn-arounds in the median. This was built in conjunction with the interchanges with the Long Island Expressaway at Exits 72 & 73. After the incomplete interchange with I-495 (which would have been expanded when I-495 was extended eastward), the road quickly narrows to four lanes with a center-turn lane as it passes the large Tanger Outlet Center complex, which was built during the 1990s.

Continuing eastward, the road alternates between three lanes and four lanes, always with a center turn lane. The portion of the road between the outlet center and the traffic circle at CR 73 has been the site of the most active retail development, spread over several decades. As such, the road's width and treatment vary because the task of widening largely fell to each individual developer of the new strip malls. Of course, the area is now very congested, particularly because the number of traffic lights on the road has increased from 6 in 1990 to 13 in 2007.

After the traffic circle at CR 73 , the road continues for the rest of its length with only two lanes plus center-turn lane. It terminates at NY 25 & Doctor's Path northeast of the town of Riverhead.

References

External links

* [http://www.nycroads.com/roads/suffolk_051-075/ Suffolk CRs 51-75 @ NYCRoads.com]