Big rigs causing big problems for Nassau residents

Big rigs are causing a big problem for residents living along part of South Oyster Bay Road in Nassau. In December, the four-lane road was designated by the state Department of Transportation as a

News 12 Staff

Sep 29, 2015, 1:45 AM

Updated 3,296 days ago

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Big rigs are causing a big problem for residents living along part of South Oyster Bay Road in Nassau.
In December, the four-lane road was designated by the state Department of Transportation as a truck access highway.
That means tandem trucks 65 feet long and big rigs 75 feet long can now travel down the 4-mile stretch that goes from Route 107 to the Long Island Expressway.
The request for re-designation of the roadway came from FedEx, which has a trucking facility in Bethpage. FedEx says it is expanding its facility in Bethpage and that it needs its larger rigs to have access to South Oyster Bay Road.
Nassau County Legislator Judy Jacobs says the designation of the road as an "access highway" should have never happened
"No one knew this was going to happen, no one knew what the word access meant," she says.
The state DOT says that's not the case, saying it notified Nassau County and Oyster Bay and gave them 30 days to object, but there were no concerns raised
It says the only way the road can be "de-designated" is if something changes with the physical road or there is a proven increase in traffic accidents because of the big rigs.
Andre Bachman has lived on a corner of South Oyster Bay Road for 15 years and says the traffic has become unbearable.