County Route 111 (Suffolk County, New York)

County Route 111
Port Jefferson-Westhampton Beach Highway Captain Daniel Roe Highway
Route information
Maintained by SCDPW
Major junctions
North end:	I-495 in Manorville
	CR 51 near Eastport
South end:	NY 27 exit 62 near Eastport
Highway system
Numbered highways in New York Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County (Suffolk) ← CR 110 CR 112 →

Suffolk County Road 111 is a county road in Suffolk County, New York. It runs northwest and southeast from Interstate 495 at exit 70 in Manorville to NY 27 at exit 62 near Eastport. The road is named for Captain Daniel Roe (1740–1820) of Selden, New York, who served in the French and Indian War and was a Captain in the Revolutionary War.

Route description

Linda Scott's Stargazer sculpture of a deer looking to the sky alongside Route 111, the symbolic gateway to The Hamptons

The road serves as a connecting route between Central Long Island and the Hamptons. When it was originally built, it replaced the northern section of Eastport-Manor Road in Manorville. Proposed interchanges were to include the east end of Suffolk County Road 90, the west end of the cancelled extension of Suffolk County Road 105, and a cancelled northern extension of Suffolk County Road 55 (Eastport-Manor Road).

Once it leaves Manorville, Suffolk CR 111 begins to show its rural, limited-access aspirations, as it crosses over a long dirt road named Toppings Path, and a half-diamond interchange with Suffolk County Road 51 (East Moriches-Riverhead Road), and eventually terminates at an incomplete interchange with New York State Route 27 that was intended to be upgraded from a diamond interchange to a cloverleaf with collective-distributor roads. This junction, however, was never intended to be the end for County Road 111.

History

North and west of Manorville

The northwestern terminus was to begin at or near the proposed interchange of NY 25A & 347, then move south. Beginning at the intersection of Wheat Path, Suffolk CR 111 was to replace Canal Road. It would then have interchanges with Patchogue-Mount Sinai Road and Coram-Mount Sinai Road, where it would have broken away from Canal Road and run along its south side. Suffolk County Road 111 was then to replace Whiskey Road west of its intersection with Miller Place-Middle Island Road and Coram-Sweezeytown Road. It would break away from Whiskey Road east of Middle Island Boulevard, cross over Miller Place-Yaphank Road, and reunite with Whiskey Road again until the proposed interchange with Suffolk CR 21 (Rocky Point-Yaphank Road). County Road 111 was then to shift to the northeast corner of SCR 21 & Whiskey Road, running parallel with Whiskey Road until north of the intersection of Currans Road, where it would cross over Whiskey Road and remain along its south side until its terminus at William Floyd Parkway in Ridge.

East of William Floyd Parkway, Suffolk CR 111 was intended to have an interchange and then curve south through Brookhaven State Park on land once formerly owned by the Brookhaven National Laboratory. After the interchange with New York State Route 25, it would shift eastward along the northern border of Brookhaven Lab, crossing the Robert Cushman Murphy County Park twice. In between this Suffolk County Preserve area, it would run through the grounds of the Grumman Calverton Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant. It was to then follow along Wading River-Center Moriches Road (former Suffolk CR 25), before heading south again toward the Peconic River. The road would join its existing section on the northeast corner of the westbound service road on the Long Island Expressway at exit 70.

South and east of Eastport

After the interchange with New York State Route 27, which was to be upgraded to a cloverleaf interchange with collective-distributor roads, Suffolk CR 111 was to run southeast across the Pine Barrens. It would run roughly parallel to Suffolk County Road 71 (Old Country Road) before intersecting with it at the Montauk Line of the Long Island Rail Road. It was then intended to replace County Road 71 as it crossed Montauk Highway and headed through the Village of Westhampton Beach towards the Atlantic coastline.

Safety improvements

In the past few years, there have been renewed efforts by local residents and political leaders to reduce the high speed, unsafe conditions, and traffic that plagues County Route 111, particularly during peak travel times in the summer season. Notably, as the "Gateway to the Hamptons", County Route 111 carries the majority of travelers who are making their way from the Long Island Expressway (I-495) to New York State Route 27, and vice versa. This causes perennial backups and frustrations on Friday and Sunday afternoons.

Local residents have been complaining for many years about the problem of the highway, particularly in Manorville, where County Route 111 forms the backbone of the tiny hamlet and connects all of its services and stores. These complaints have crescendoed in recent years as the accident rate on the road has risen alarmingly; the latter has finally prompted attention from Suffolk County.

Through the lobbying of local representative Edward Romaine, the County is conducting the most thorough traffic studies to date. In the interim, a patchwork solution has been created by installing two brand new traffic lights at the offramps of the Long Island Expressway to control the traffic siphoning on and off. Once the peak summer season ends, the County will complete its traffic study and implement more long-term solutions, some of which may include additional or better-coordinated traffic signals, traffic calming devices, and a reduction in the speed limit of the road through Manorville's hamlet center.

References

• Port Jefferson-Westhampton Road @ NYCROADS.com
• Photographs, December 28, 2003 (The Expressway Site)
• Suffolk CR 111 (Greater New York Roads)