Long Island Truck Routes
Parkway Bans, Truck Corridors and the Lowest Bridges in Nassau and Suffolk
Quick answer
Where can trucks drive on Long Island?
Trucks use the Long Island Expressway (I-495), Sunrise Highway, Jericho Turnpike and the other state and county roads, never the 11 state parkways, which NYSDOT closes to all commercial vehicles. The reason is height: 171 of the 493 bridges over Long Island roads clear less than 13 ft 6 in, and all 50 of the lowest sit over the parkways.
Updated October 2026 by the HTS Logistics broker team (FMCSA MC# 1178470).
How many low bridges does Long Island have?
The FHWA National Bridge Inventory (2025 New York file) lists 697 bridges in Nassau and Suffolk. 493 of them span a road, and their measured clearances break down like this:
| Measured clearance | Long Island | Nassau | Suffolk | Long Island, not over a parkway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 12 ft | 111 | 87 | 24 | 4 |
| Under 13 ft | 151 | 106 | 45 | 6 |
| Under 13 ft 6 in | 171 | 119 | 52 | 11 |
| Under 14 ft | 189 | 130 | 59 | 19 |
The last column is the one that matters for a truck that stays off the parkways: only 4 non-parkway road crossings are under 12 ft and 19 under 14 ft. Nassau carries most of the risk, with 87 of the island's 111 bridges under 12 ft, almost all of them over the Southern State, Northern State, Wantagh and Meadowbrook parkways.
Two limits on these numbers. The inventory covers bridges that carry public roads, so railroad bridges over roads, including most Long Island Rail Road overpasses, are not counted: treat every figure as a minimum. And they are measured clearances, not the posted signs. New York posts the legal clearance one foot below the measured figure (Vehicle and Traffic Law 1621), and repaving after an inspection can lower a bridge further.
Why trucks are banned from Long Island parkways
NYSDOT lists all 11 Long Island state parkways as "No Commercial Vehicles": Bethpage, Heckscher, Loop, Meadowbrook, Northern State, Ocean, Robert Moses Causeway, Sagtikos, Sunken Meadow, Southern State and Wantagh. NYSDOT's own permit notice says some Long Island parkways were built with low arch bridges specifically to keep trucks out. The bridge inventory shows how low they are:
| Parkway | Bridges over it | Lowest | Median | Under 12 ft | Under 13 ft 6 in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern State Pkwy incl. Heckscher section | 88 | 8 ft 3 in | 11 ft 2 in | 68 | 87 |
| Northern State Pkwy | 39 | 8 ft 9 in | 12 ft 6 in | 18 | 28 |
| Wantagh State Pkwy | 15 | 10 ft 2 in | 10 ft 10 in | 12 | 15 |
| Meadowbrook State Pkwy | 14 | 9 ft 0 in | 11 ft 10 in | 7 | 13 |
| Sagtikos/Sunken Meadow State Pkwy | 12 | 11 ft 5 in | 12 ft 8 in | 1 | 8 |
A standard dry van is 13 ft 6 in tall. On the Southern State, 77% of the bridges (68 of 88) would shear the roof off it, and the median clearance is 11 ft 2 in. The lowest measured bridge on the island, Fletcher Avenue over the Southern State in the Town of Hempstead, clears 8 ft 3 in.
The consequences are now heavier. New York recorded 310 bridge strikes in 2025, concentrated on parkways and low railroad bridges in New York City, the Lower Hudson Valley and Long Island, and in 2026 the state made a bridge strike an 8-point license violation. NYSDOT's brochure adds fines, towing bills that can exceed $10,000 and repair costs. During a July 2026 enforcement week, State Police Troop L on Long Island wrote 67 tickets and ran 48 truck inspections.
The low bridges a truck can actually reach
These are the lowest bridges over Long Island roads that are not parkways, so a truck on local streets can meet them. Several are parkway bridges crossing a local road; others carry a highway or a county road. Measured clearance, lowest first:
| Clearance | Road underneath | Bridge carries | Town | Built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 ft 0 in | St. Andrews Rd | Route 27 | Southampton, Suffolk | 2008 |
| 11 ft 6 in | Park Road | Cross River Drive | Riverhead, Suffolk | 1975 |
| 11 ft 10 in | Belmont Pk Entr | Southern State Pkwy | Babylon, Suffolk | 1962 |
| 11 ft 10 in | Park Road | Cross River Drive | Riverhead, Suffolk | 1975 |
| 12 ft 4 in | Front Street LIRR-Main | Mineola Blvd | Mineola (village), Nassau | 1997 |
| 12 ft 7 in | Dogwood Avenue | Southern State Pkwy | Hempstead, Nassau | 1956 |
| 13 ft 3 in | Locust Lane | Northern State Pkwy | East Hills (village), Nassau | 1934 |
| 13 ft 3 in | Old Country Rd | Dix Hills Road | Huntington, Suffolk | 1949 |
| 13 ft 4 in | Route 27 | Meadowbrook Pkwy | Freeport (village), Nassau | 1938 |
| 13 ft 5 in | Route 107 | Southern State Pkwy | Oyster Bay, Nassau | 1934 |
| 13 ft 5 in | Route 25 | Northern State Pkwy | Old Westbury (village), Nassau | 1936 |
| 13 ft 6 in | Robbins Lane | I-495 (Long Island Expressway) | Oyster Bay, Nassau | 1961 |
| 13 ft 7 in | Dogwood Avenue | Southern State Pkwy | Hempstead, Nassau | 1934 |
| 13 ft 8 in | Route I495 | Route 135 | Oyster Bay, Nassau | 1962 |
| 13 ft 9 in | Round Swamp Road | Northern State Pkwy | Huntington, Suffolk | 1947 |
Source: FHWA National Bridge Inventory 2025, Items 54A/54B. Railroad bridges over roads are not in this inventory.
Which roads trucks use on Long Island
- Long Island Expressway (I-495): the spine. NYSDOT's Truck Book designates it a Qualifying Highway from the Queens-Nassau line to Exit 72 in Riverhead, which allows 53 ft trailers and 102 in wide trucks. In Queens, trucks stay out of the left lane.
- Access highways for 53 ft trailers: segments of NY 27 (Sunrise Highway), NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike and Middle Country Road), NY 110, NY 112, NY 347, NY 454 (Veterans Memorial Highway) and NY 135 (Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway), among others listed in the Truck Book.
- Getting off the island with a 53 ft trailer: New York City bans 53 ft trailers except on designated corridors. The original Long Island route runs I-495 to I-295 over the Throgs Neck Bridge, then I-695 and I-95; since 2015 NYC also allows I-95 from the George Washington Bridge upper level and I-678 to JFK.
- Oversize loads: follow the route printed on the NYSDOT permit, travel in daylight on weekdays, and add New York City and Port Authority permits for any crossing. The rules are on our New York oversize permit guide; city streets are covered in the NYC truck route guide.
- Parkways: never, except with NYSDOT Region 10 approval obtained before the permit application, in limited cases such as parkway construction.
How we plan a Long Island move around the bridges
- We get the loaded height, not the machine height: machine plus trailer deck. An excavator 11 ft 6 in tall on an RGN with a 2 ft deck stands 13 ft 6 in, which is legal on the LIE and too tall for most local underpasses in Nassau.
- We map the route from the yard to the nearest truck route and check every bridge on the local roads, including railroad underpasses that the federal inventory leaves out.
- If the load is over height or width, the NYSDOT permit sets the route, and we book the escorts the permit requires. A load over 14 ft high needs a front escort with a height pole in New York.
- The carrier drives the permitted route only. Consumer GPS is not used for routing.
If you are moving equipment on or off the island, our Long Island heavy equipment transport page covers crossings, ferries and the carriers we use; for machine sizes see excavator transport dimensions.
Long Island truck route questions
Are semi trucks allowed on the Long Island Expressway?
Yes. The Long Island Expressway (I-495) is the island's main truck route and a New York State Qualifying Highway from the Queens-Nassau line to Exit 72 in Riverhead, so 53 ft trailers and 102 in wide trucks may use it (NYSDOT Truck Book, 2020 edition). In Queens, trucks are kept out of the left lane. Oversize loads still need a NYSDOT permit.
Why are trucks banned from Long Island parkways?
The parkways were built in the 1930s to 1950s for cars, with low stone and concrete arch bridges. The federal bridge inventory shows 68 of the 88 bridges over the Southern State Parkway clear less than 12 ft, against the 13 ft 6 in legal truck height. NYSDOT closes all 11 Long Island state parkways to commercial vehicles, trucks and tractor-trailers.
What is the lowest bridge on Long Island?
In the 2025 National Bridge Inventory, the lowest measured clearance over a Long Island road is 8 ft 3 in: the Fletcher Avenue bridge over the Southern State Parkway in the Town of Hempstead, built in 1934. Posted signs read lower than the measured figure: New York posts legal clearance one foot below the measurement, and NYSDOT warns some parkway bridges are posted as low as 6 ft 11 in.
What happens if a truck hits a parkway bridge?
Striking a bridge became an 8-point violation on a New York driver's license in 2026, on top of fines, towing bills that NYSDOT says can exceed $10,000, and the cost of bridge repairs. New York recorded 310 bridge strikes in 2025, most of them on parkways and under low railroad bridges in New York City, the Lower Hudson Valley and Long Island.
Can an oversize load ever use a Long Island parkway?
Only with written approval from NYSDOT Region 10 obtained before the permit is requested, and only in limited cases such as parkway construction or when the parkway is the only access to the pickup or delivery site (NYSDOT Special Hauling Notice 14-01). Without that approval the permit application is denied.
Is consumer GPS safe for truck routing on Long Island?
No. The NYSDOT and NYC DOT parkway brochure warns drivers not to rely on consumer GPS, which can route a truck onto a parkway. New York's 511NY service has a Trucker Mode that flags restricted routes, and permitted loads must follow the route printed on the permit.
Sources
Facts on this page were checked in October 2026 against the sources below. Rules and rates change; we confirm current requirements on every move.
- FHWA National Bridge Inventory, 2025 New York file (Items 54A/54B, 53) (pulled Oct 17, 2026; clearances converted from meters and rounded to the nearest inch)
- NYSDOT: Long Island parkways closed to commercial vehicles (brochure text)
- NYSDOT and NYC DOT: Stay off of State Parkways (brochure, Dec 2017)
- NYSDOT Truck Book: Designated Qualifying and Access Highways (Oct 2020)
- NYSDOT Special Hauling Notice 14-01: oversize vehicles on parkways
- NY Vehicle and Traffic Law 1621: legal clearance posting
- Governor of New York: bridge strike campaign (July 27, 2026)
- New York State Police Troop L: bridge-hit enforcement week (Aug 5, 2026)
Moving equipment on Long Island?
Send the machine, its loaded height and both addresses. We route it around the low bridges and handle the New York permits.
- FMCSA-licensed property broker, MC# 1178470
- Permits, escorts and route surveys arranged for each move
- Carriers checked for authority, insurance and safety record
- Commercial shippers, dealers, contractors and auction buyers
Prefer to talk? Call (631) 683-8275.