West Shore Road (Oyster Bay, New York)

Last updated
County Route E54
Route information
Maintained by NCDPW
Length2.44 mi [1]  (3.93 km)
Major junctions
South endLexington Avenue (CR D34) in Oyster Bay
Major intersectionsLake Avenue/Mill Hill Road at the Oyster Bay–Mill Neck border
Cleft Road in Mill Neck
North endLudlam Avenue (CR D41) in Bayville
Location
Country United States
State New York
County Nassau
Highway system
West Shore Road (Oyster Bay, New York)
CR E54, highlighted in red

Nassau County Route E54 is a major, 2.44-mile (3.93 km) thoroughfare in northeastern Nassau County, New York, linking the hamlet of Oyster Bay with the Village of Bayville, which it reaches by crossing Mill Neck Creek via the Bayville Bridge.

Contents

CR E54, in its entirety, is owned by Nassau County and maintained by the Nassau County Department of Public Works, and consists of West Shore Road and the western portions of West Main Street. [2] [3] An unbuilt extension of the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway to Rye via the Rye–Oyster Bay Bridge would have followed portions of West Shore Road.

Route description

CR E54 approaching the Bayville Bridge in 2021 Approach to the Bayville Bridge, Mill Neck, Long Island, New York August 29, 2021.jpg
CR E54 approaching the Bayville Bridge in 2021

CR E54 begins as West Main Street at Lexington Avenue (CR D34) in Oyster Bay; the portions of West Main Street east of this location comprise CR E52. [2] [3] [4] It then proceeds west-northwest to Mill Hill Road, entering the Incorporated Village of Mill Neck. The road then turns north-northwest, crossing underneath the Long Island Rail Road's Oyster Bay Branch and hugs the western shoreline of Oyster Bay Harbor – a coastline that it hugs until reaching the Bayville Bridge. [4] It then continues north along the coastline, soon intersecting Cleft Road, thence continuing north to the Bayville Bridge, which it then crosses. [4]

Immediately upon reaching the north end of the Bayville Bridge, the road then enters the Incorporated Village of Bayville. [2] [3] [4] The CR E54 designation ends at this location, and the roadway continues north into Bayville's downtown as Ludlam Avenue (CR D41). [2] [3] [4]

The entirety of CR E54 is classified as a minor arterial highway by the New York State Department of Transportation and is eligible for federal aid. [4] [5]

History

In the 1960s, it was proposed by Robert Moses to extend the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway north to Interstate 287 in Rye, Westchester County, via the Rye–Oyster Bay Bridge – and, in turn, extending I-287 south onto Long Island; this extension would have followed portions of West Shore Road, along the Oyster Bay Harbor shoreline. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] The proposal was met with stiff opposition from locals in Oyster Bay and Bayville upon the plans being brought before the Federal Highway Administration, leading to the creation of what is now the Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge in 1968 – and, further, to the cancellation of the highway project in 1973. [11] [12]

In the 1980s, there was a proposal to widen West Shore Road to improve safety – in addition to repairing the seawall paralleling the road. [13] [14] [15] A wide, painted median and a shoulder were proposed as part of the plan. This proposal was complicated by environmental concerns and the fact that the wetlands on the east side of the road being deeded to the Federal Government, as per a 1968 agreement. [13] [14] [15]

Route number

Beginning in 1959, when the Nassau County Department of Public Works created a numbered highway system as part of their "Master Plan" for the county highway system, all of CR E54 was originally designated as part of County Route 14, along with Ludlam Avenue (CR D41) and the western portions of West Main Street (CR E52). [16] [17] [18] This route, along with all of the other county routes in Nassau County, 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 stated in the federal government's Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. [19] [20]

Major intersections

Locationmi [1] kmDestinationsNotes
Oyster Bay (hamlet) 0.000.00Lexington Avenue (CR D34)Southern terminus; road continues east as West Main Street (CR E52)
Oyster Bay (hamlet)–Mill Neck line0.320.51Lake Avenue and Mill Hill RoadRoad name changes from West Main Street to West Shore Road
Mill Neck 0.931.50Cleft Road
Bayville 2.443.93Ludlam Avenue (CR D41)Northern terminus; road continues north as Ludlam Avenue (CR D41)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  •        Route transition

County Route E52 (Nassau County, New York)

County Route E52
Location Oyster Bay
Length0.28 mi [21]  (450 m)
West Shore Road (Oyster Bay, New York)
The portion of West Main Street designated as CR E52, highlighted in red

County Route E52 is a county route designation given to the 0.28-mile (0.45 km) stretch of West Main Street east of Lexington Avenue (CR D34), located entirely within the hamlet of Oyster Bay. [2] [3]

Route description

CR E52 begins at Lexington Avenue (CR D34). It continues east to South Street (NY 106). [2] [3] [4]

West of Lexington Avenue, the road continues west and north to Bayville as CR E54. [4]

The entirety of CR E54 is classified as a minor arterial highway by the New York State Department of Transportation and is eligible for federal aid. [4] [5]

History

CR E52 was formerly designated as part of CR 14, with both West Shore Road and the remainder of West Main Street (CR E54) – along with Ludlam Avenue (CR D41), prior to the route numbers in Nassau County being altered. [16] [17] [18]

Landmarks

The NYSRHP- and NRHP-listed Raynham Hall is located along the portion of West Main Street designated as CR E52. [22] [23] This historic home with connections to the American Revolution is now a museum. [23]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "CR E54" (PDF). NYSDOT Local Highway Inventory. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 New York State Department of Transportation (2021). "County Roads Listing: Nassau County" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation . Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "My Roads". Nassau County, NY. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "New York State Roadway Inventory System Viewer". gis.dot.ny.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-27.
  5. 1 2 "New York State Department of Transportation Functional Class Viewer". gis.dot.ny.gov. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  6. ↑ Master Plan for Nassau County. Nassau County Department of Public Works. 1959.
  7. ↑ Traffic, Earnings and Feasibility of Long Island Sound Crossing. Madigan-Hyland, Incorporated. 1965.
  8. ↑ Moses, Robert (1966). Proposed Bayville–Rye Bridge. Nassau–Suffolk Regional Planning Board.
  9. ↑ "Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135)". www.nycroads.com. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  10. ↑ "NEW BRONX ROAD URGED BY MOSES; Highway From Pelham Bay Park to Throgs Neck Is Sought in Shore Plan". The New York Times . March 4, 1965. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  11. ↑ "Congressman Lester Wolff Oyster Bay National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service". www.fws.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  12. ↑ Clines, Francis X. (June 21, 1973). "Rockefeller Halts Efforts to Build L.I. Sound Bridge". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  13. 1 2 Schneider, Steve (September 4, 1983). "Road Plan Stirs Bridge's Foes". The New York Times . pp. LI16 – via ProQuest.
  14. 1 2 Bleyer, Bill (August 3, 1983). "Residents: Don't Hurt Wetlands". Newsday . pp. 25A1 – via ProQuest.
  15. 1 2 Vincent, Stuart (February 7, 1989). "Wetlands Deed Could Block Road Repairs". Newsday . p. 29 – via ProQuest.
  16. 1 2 Anderson, Steve. "A Brief History of County Roads in Nassau and Suffolk Counties". NYCRoads. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 2, 2023.[ self-published source ]
  17. 1 2 "Hicksville quadrangle, New York-Nassau Co - Map Collections". Map Collections. Retrieved 2023-01-12.
  18. 1 2 "Bayville (south)-Nassau-Suffolk Counties: New York State Department of Transportation - Map Collections". Map Collections. Retrieved 2023-01-13.
  19. ↑ "Nassau-Suffolk County Road History". 2009-01-03. Archived from the original on 2009-01-03. Retrieved 2020-07-27.
  20. ↑ Anderson, Steve. "County Roads on Long Island". NYCRoads. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved January 3, 2008.[ self-published source ]
  21. ↑ "CR E52" (PDF). NYSDOT Local Highway Inventory. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  22. ↑ "Cultural Resource Information System (CRIS)". cris.parks.ny.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-07.
  23. 1 2 "The Townsend Family and Raynham Hall". raynhamhallmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2009-07-15. Retrieved 2009-12-08.
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