Romaine suggests moving more freight off LI by rails instead of roads
More than 21,000 trucks drive on the LIE every day, which is 11% of the expressway's traffic, according to the State Department of Transportation.
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More trains. Less trucks.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine says Long Island would greatly benefit by shifting more of its freight transport from the roads to the rails. Romaine (R-Center Moriches) discussed his hopes for the shift during the Long Island Association's State of the Region.
"We wouldn't have to worry about the HOV (lane), because we could drive, and traffic would actually move," Romaine said during the Jan. 10 event.
"We're moving less than 2%. The rest of the country is moving 20%. Imagine if we moved 20% of our goods by rail. Half the trucks on the Long Island Expressway would be gone," he said.
The issue has been raised before, but has often run up against community opposition.
Last year, a plan to construct a 5,000-foot rail line that would be used to remove trash and debris was stopped in its tracks amid community opposition in Smithtown. The project was ultimately withdrawn.
AAA's Robert Sinclair says logistical and infrastructure challenges are some of the reasons contributing to Long Island's traffic congestion and road conditions.
"We have an inordinate number of trucks on our roads because we lack a rail freight tunnel bringing freight under the Hudson River into Long Island," Sinclair said.
"I'm doing this job 25 years, and I remember a brochure from when I first started that said that one truck, 88,000 pounds, supposedly does the damage of 2,000 cars. When you look at all the trucks that we have, you see that there's a lot of damage being done," he said.
