In the summer of 1955, 12,000 people attended the groundbreaking of a new Smith Point Bridge. The quarter mile bridge opened on July 4, 1959, connecting the mainland in Shirley to Fire Island’s Smith Point County Park. The park has since become the most heavily utilized county park facility in all of Suffolk.
Having just celebrated 66 years, the Smith Point Bridge has more than surpassed its intended use. The plans for a new bridge that began several years ago now has a scheduled groundbreaking of its own for 2026. The construction timeline is approximately two years with an additional year to demolish the old bridge.
Bridge building, unlike other construction, creates a final product that always becomes iconic. Maybe it is the architectural beauty, the required specialized building practices or merely just the important purpose they serve. Regardless, the public develops a deep affinity for its bridges. The new Smith Point Bridge will be no exception.
Unlike the current draw bridge, the new bridge will be a fixed style bridge with a 55-foot vertical clearance over a 110-foot-wide navigation channel ensuring safe marine passage. It will include a shared use path for both pedestrians and cyclists protected by a safety barrier.
The project itself will require much in the way of specialty work items. The extensive list includes the fabrication, shipping and installation of concrete piles, piers, and girders. Architectural features included in the construction are aesthetics such as designed hammerhead piers and a belvedere overlook area.
Surrounding the site will be the construction of a park recreational area, a visual screening berm and on-site wetland restoration that include plantings. Due to its proximity to protected and endangered species and habitats, the project involves a lengthy list of regulatory agencies. In addition, time-of-year restrictions will exist on certain work.
While the design, engineering, and construction for projects of this magnitude present challenges, it will be a privilege for us all to take part in the production of a generational icon such as the new Smith Point Bridge.
My fifty plus years of crossing the Smith Point Bridge, always brought about a degree of excitement. It may have been the overlook of boat traffic in the Narrows Bay or the cool sound your car tires make while driving across the steel grated roadway. Ultimately, I believe it was the anticipation that most people feel when crossing a bridge; the notion of being transported to another place. In this instance, a destination that needs no description… the beach!
I am honored to be the local Suffolk County Legislator at this special time. Bridges are not just steel and concrete structures spanning bodies of water. They are symbols of connection, progress, and overcoming obstacles for our residents. Together we will make it happen.
“You can dream, create, design and build the most wonderful place in the world, but it requires people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney