Long Island Expressway I-495

There was a time when I’d take the LIE eastbound near the end to Riverhead in the mornings, and I hardly had any traffic woes at all. Now for work I’m taking it westbound from where I live in eastern Nassau county to my job on the north shore in western Nassau. Supposed to take me about 20 – 25 minutes. I leave home around 9:30am, figuring leaving after rush hour traffic will be better. It USED to be that way up until about 2 – 3 weeks ago. Now I’m suddenly encountering lots of delays about 3 miles before Exit 39 (Glen Cove). The first two times were due to idiot rubberneckers in every lane gawking at folks who had what appeared to be minor accidents pulled over to the right. The other times seemed to be due to delays/​accidents on Northern State Parkway in the same direction. Not sure why November seems to bring out the worst in drivers here… we haven’t even had any snow yet. Honestly, if I could find another route to work I would, but at times Northern State is just as bad.

Bumper to bumper no matter what day of the week if after 8am. Try to dodge those trucks and slow down for the weaving drivers who think they’re better drivers than they are. Two stars for the signs. Jersey highways are worse.

I don’t take the LIE as often as I did when I lived closer to it but I occasionally jump on for a brief stretch usually around the Grand Central merge to the Midtown Tunnel. Unfortunately there is usually some sort of traffic, obviously a lot more during rush hours.
This expressway does run from the Mid Town Tunnel all the way to the end of Long Island. The drive could easily take you 2 hours even without traffic.

I HATE the LIE. I began taking it when my son began attending school on the island and go in for parent/​teacher conferences. You can be in the fast lane and doing 65mph and sure enough you will have some ahole literally on your bumper honking for you to go faster! Go on ahead and hit 70mph or more and you will certainly be stopped by the highway troopers eventually. I thought the cross bronx and major deegan were horrible with drivers who must have purchased their drivers licenses, but the LIE makes the CB and MD look like a walk in the park.

I am a truck driver and I use this road everyday coming from central NJ. THE ROAD IS HORRIBLE. THE DRIVERS ARE TERRIBLE!. Constant lane changing, getting cut off by people who just don’t wanna be behind a truck, and then they slam on their brakes and decide to go the minimum speed limit in the center lane when all the other lanes are moving! WTF!!! Road rage is a MAJOR issue. There is a lot of people who try to incite road rage incidents. Just remember, I’m in a huge truck, YOU are in a little car. Who will win? You decide. Anyway, the old people are the worst, the foreigners are just as bad. And its not just cars, big rigs also drive super fast which makes it a scary scenario. Just remember, YOU ALL ARE RACING TOWARDS A MAJOR TRAFFIC JAM so SLOW THE FUCK DOWN, SHARE THE ROAD, AND STOP BEING A DUMMY!

The LIE is pure hell for me. I used to take it everyday for work and actually considered quitting because of it. I can’t even tell you how many countless hours I have wasted sitting on the LIE. If you have another option, even if it’s out of the way, take it.

have been using this parkway to commute to queens from LI for 6 years and There is traffic every day for miles. Its ok after 10 AM and gets bad again after 2 pm until
about 7. Many horrible idiotic scumbag lowlife drivers on the road weaving in and out, constantly switching lanes for no reason because theres traffic and your not
goingg to get ANYWHERE. The trucks drive calm and steady, but other then that fuck the lie, yeah and fuck the northern state also, traffic is even worse on there in rush hour times. But its better then taking the crappy LIRR where you have to sit next to an obese person drinking beer or eating and laying on you. NY needs a new highway — there are Way too many cars on the road–

Been using it for a very little while and i am already very concerned by this road.
Why is there no EMERGENCY LANE when approaching NY? That would clear a lot of jams right away. They also need a better sign webmaster. Whenever the sign says «traffic moving well», you can be sure you are going to be bumper to bumper. Estimated travel time is also completely messed up. 15 min is 30, 30 is an hour and so on.

Ride or Die.
I’m on this usually Saturday nights and the people driving are friggin’ INSANE.
Changing lanes without signaling, racing, even drifting @ exit!
One night I was about to take the exit to Whitestone Expressway and a Optimus Prime freight-​liner attempted to do the same, he crash into the barriers sending sand 70 feet airborne, which was super scary.
At peak daylight times, this expressway can get really packed. At night, congestion is usually due to construction or accident.
Just be on point when driving here and don’t get seduced into road rage or driving like the other lesser drivers.
Keep Calm, Drive Classy.

Approaching Commack on the world’s longest parking lot reads a sign «It can wait — Text Stop in 5 miles».
Why would I waste five minutes to stop and ready my text? Not worth my time.
Not when I can check it now.

Honestly, I can’t believe we can «check in» onto an expressway… It’s like people in FourSquare making up bus stop locations to check into.
Everyone hates this expressway, but we need to be on it to get places. Inevitable. Traffic? There’s traffic everywhere. Crazy drivers? They’re everywhere too. Granted, lately there have been more major accidents (ends with death), but what can we do?
Can’t get traffic updates either on this =\
All in all, I was really surprised to see this on Unilocal,but not at all surprised to see the 2-​star rating.

Took this a couple of times whenever I visited relatives in LI.
Whenever there are no traffic problems, then it’s okay.
But if there are traffic problems, then it’s quite the opposite.

I always take it to get me to long island, I mean what esle is there to say about a highway? It has your typical potholes, traffic, Annoying trucks, Annoying drivers who cant drive & cut you off & give you road rage, Annoying construction workers who tend to work on the road during rush hour.
Other then that its a decent highway.

The number 495 is cursed! Whether 495 NY or 495 DC, you feel like you are lingering in purgatory. The biggest culprits of course being idiotic drivers. I don’t know how many times the following can be stated:
Men: You are bad at multi-tasking…it’s been scientifically proven. So take your pick… drive or talk on your cell phone… because we all know you can’t handle both.
Women: You are terrible drivers… it’s been socially proven. So take your pick… drive or play with the radio or put on your make up or talk on your cell phone… because we all know you need all the concentration you can muster into driving.
I jest… no I don’t. People, you are not the only car on the road. Some of us would like to get to work on time or drive out to L. I without pulling our hair out and accidents caused by your idiotic, dangerous, distracted driving is really hindering this goal.
On a positive note… once you get out of Nassau County, 495 is really a pleasant drive through Suffolk County. Wide, open highway, minimal cars, beautiful scenery… the way highway driving should be.

LIE is a-​ok … yea know why? But when its not jammed like rats… it takes me everywhere I love to go… out east to go apple picking… out west mostly since I work in NYC. and it takes me to all the little wonderful villages around Long Island… I can complain all I want about this place sometimes… but I am so proud to be from Long Island

Here I go again, with another expressway review. It’s a driving culture that got under my skin.
From Queens to Riverhead, this is one loooooooong stretch of road. Daydreamers paradise. Straight up, not much construction, just you, open road, and your thoughts.
Yes, it’s a parking lot certain times a day, and yes, state troupers tend to close all lanes from time to time forcing you to navigate local scenic roads — but that’s part of the character.
HOV Clean Pass lane opens for cars with 2 or more people or hybrid vehicles with Clean Pass stickers, 6−10am, 3−8pm weekdays — that will make your travel faster — unless you stuck behind some a****** … er, person … who wants to annoy you personally by driving 40 mi per hr. Yea, you know I am talking about you, white stripey shirt.

Always jammed, always being worked on, and always a parking lot but it’s our gateway to the best city in the world and our passport to the east end!

Long Island Expressway I-​495 = Long Instigating Eternity, I for Eyesore 495
Life is not about the destination but about the journey… Aija, the journey was an eternity for this mortal to achieve salvation. Shopping in Nassau County was the choice but this 2012 journey was exactly as I remember from my travels of former days to be with my former love – hell nightmare. There is bumper to bumper traffic, which a little rain moves snail slow. Be it bad weather, be it good weather nevertheless should an accident arise traffic moves an inch per ten minutes as evidently the HOV lane is also backup.
Interstate 495 ends in Riverhead Exit 72 where for most drivers reach their destination at Tanger Outlets, yet to some is the Requiem state reached.

Wow, didn’t know you could review this. I’ve mostly been on it to travel further out in Long Island & not really driven it in the city so much but I definitely have some gripes to make about it.
First off, this is the road of the tractor trailers. If you want a shorter trip, try the Northern or Southern State so you don’t have to deal with gargantuan trucks that poke along & often are driven by people who can’t stay in their own lane.
Second, the HOV lane is useless. What good is there in having one if the cops patrol it & pull you for doing the speed limit while everyone else is sitting still? The HOV lanes in Atlanta are much better since people are actually encouraged to drive like normal people in them (Atlanta cops also have bigger things to deal with than constantly ticketing speeders).
Speaking of driving like normal people, this road is full of horrible drivers. If it’s not the SUV driver using you as a speed shield, it’s the fat middle aged people yakking on their cell phones while driving or the old people that have no business driving on the interstate. And this is on a sunny day with no possible reason for slow driving. There’s also an awful lot of stopping to gawk b/​c someone (usually a member of a minority group) has had car trouble & is on the side of the road next to their stopped car. It’s like they’ve never seen black or Latino people before & I know there are some in Long Island.
Third, there always seems to be construction somewhere along this road. I’ve driven here before to find that the road was closed in all lanes & I had to convolute around to get where I needed to go. If you aren’t familiar with Long Island & it’s back roads/​mini-​highways, you are screwed since God forbid anyone posts up detour signs with arrows directing you back to the open section of interstate or station an officer to TELL you how to get where you are going without winding up lost in Central Islip or some other Long Island ghetto you don’t want to be in late at night. You will definitely want to check out any potential traffic issues if you’re traveling here late at night.
Oh, and if there’s a funeral procession here? Please, for the love of God KEEP MOVING! Can’t tell you how many times people not doing the minimum speed here have brought traffic to a screeching halt.
Finally, to sum up the driving, it’s all the slowness of suburbia with the selfishness of the city. If you want to merge into a different lane if your lane is closed or traffic is stopped there, you have to give the look of death & just pull in. Why can’t anyone put some of that in their driving foot & actually give the car some gas!!!

I’ve seen a good amount of fatal car accidents on the L.I.E. I can’t understand how bad of a driver you gotta be to get into a accident on this highway. The roads and lanes are wide as f*ck compared to roads in other countries. There’s always a accident on L.I.E/Grand Central Parkway intersection. Everybody from the left side of the L.I.E. wants to cross over to the right to enter the G.C.P. and everyone from the right wants to cross over to the left all in the last second right before the exit.
The best part is nobody understands to how keep right and pass left.