Heckscher State Parkway

The Heckscher State Parkway (formerly known as the Heckscher Spur) is an 8.24-mile (13.26 km) long parkway in the Suffolk County, Long Island, New York. The parkway, located entirely within the town of Islip, begins at exit 41A of the Southern State Parkway (doubling as the southern terminus of the Sagtikos State Parkway) in West Islip. The parkway proceeds east as a six-lane parkway through Brentwood, Central Islip and south through Islip Terrace and Great River. The eastern terminus of the parkway is at the toll barrier for Heckscher State Park in Great River, within exit 46. The Heckscher State Parkway comprises the eastern portion of New York State Route 908M (NY 908M), an unsigned reference route, with the Southern State Parkway occupying the western section. There is very little to indicate the actual existence of the parkway's name, as it is signed as an extension of the Southern State Parkway. Exceptions, however, are located along NY 27 and NY 27A.

The Heckscher State Parkway was first constructed from NY 27A to the entrance, when Heckscher (formerly Deer Range) State Park opened in 1929. In 1959, bids were announced for a new Heckscher State Parkway, costing $8,327,000 (1959 USD). The parkway was completed in 1962, and opened on November 3, with speeches by Robert Moses and governor Nelson Rockefeller. The parkway necessitated expansion of facilities at Heckscher State Park, including 18,000 feet (5,500 m) of new beachfront. The following October, the Long Island State Park Commission helped plant brand new trees and flowers along the parkway, including using evergreen trees to screen drivers from the neighborhoods on the side of the parkway. Under the Long Island Transportation Plan 2000, a study done in the late 1990s, the Heckscher would receive widening for a carpool and bus lane from the Southern State to exit 44, with NY 27.