County Route 8 (Nassau County, New York)

Nassau County Route 8 is an unsigned county road in Nassau County, New York. It travels between Old Country Road (CR 25) and Rockaway Avenue (CR E06) in Garden City and Northern Boulevard (NY 25A) in Manhasset.

County Route 8

CR 8 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NCDPW
Length5.00 mi (8.05 km)
Existed1959[1]–present
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountyNassau
Highway system
Shelter Rock Road, as seen from Links Drive on September 18, 2021.

Nassau County Route 8 travels along Herricks Road and Shelter Rock Road, is roughly five miles (8.0 km) in length, and is maintained by the Nassau County Department of Public Works.[2][3]

Route description
The former shield for CR 8; all Nassau County routes have been unsigned since the 1970s.[4]

Southern segment (Herricks Road)

The route starts as Herricks Road at the intersection of Old Country Road (CR 25) and Rockaway Avenue (CR E06) in the Incorporated Village of Garden City (located within the Town of Hempstead).[2][3][5][6] From there, it continues north underneath the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road, entering into the Town of North Hempstead.[2][3][5][6] From the railroad tracks, it continues north to Jericho Turnpike (NY 25), forming the boundary between the unincorporated hamlet of Garden City Park to the west and the Incorporated Village of Mineola to the east.[2][3][5][6] Continuing north from Jericho Turnpike, County Route 8 continues north to Hillside Avenue (NY 25B), still as Herricks Road and forming the border between the two communities.[2][3][5][6] North of Hillside Avenue, Herricks Road enters into the unincorporated hamlet of Herricks, and continues north through the hamlet to its intersection with Searingtown Road (CR 101) and Shelter Rock Road, where Herricks Road ends.[2][3][5][6] At this intersection, the alignment of County Route 8 turns west onto Shelter Rock Road.[2][3][5][6]

Northern segment (Shelter Rock Road)
Shelter Rock, as viewed from Shelter Rock Road.

From the intersection with Herricks Road, Searingtown Road (CR 101), and Shelter Rock Road, Nassau County Route 8 follows Shelter Rock Road west and north through Herricks, passing Herricks High School and forming the border between Herricks and unincorporated Manhasset Hills, as well as some of the Herricks–North Hills village border.[2][3][5][6] It continues north to I.U. Willets Road, entering completely into the Incorporated Village of North Hills. Continuing north, Shelter Rock Road crosses over the Northern State Parkway and then the Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495).[2][3][5][6][7] It then continues north through North Hills and then straddling the North Hills–Manhasset border, passing the historic Shelter Rock (for which the road is named), and ending just over the North Hills–Manhasset border at Northern Boulevard (NY 25A).[2][3][5][6][8][9][10] Additionally, when in use, the Long Island Motor Parkway crossed Shelter Rock Road.[11]

In the early 1960s, Shelter Rock Road's alignment was straightened and modernized through its northern stretch; remaining portions of the old alignment are now known as Old Shelter Rock Road.[5][8][12][11]

Major intersections
Locationmi[13]kmDestinationsNotes
Garden City–Mineola line0.00.0Rockaway Avenue (CR E06)Roadway continues as Old Country Road
Garden City Park–Mineola line0.60.97 NY 25 (Jericho Turnpike)At-grade intersection
Garden City Park–Herricks–
Williston Park–Mineola quadripoint		1.21.9 NY 25B (Hillside Avenue)At-grade intersection
Manhasset Hills–Searingtown line2.173.49Old Courthouse Road
North Hills2.654.26I.U. Willets Road
3.15.0 Northern State Parkway – Hauppauge, New York
3.25.1 I-495 – Riverhead, New York
Manhasset5.08.0 NY 25A (Northern Boulevard)At-grade intersection
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

1982 Herricks Road train crash

On March 14, 1982, a Long Island Rail Road passenger train struck a van with 10 teenagers inside at the former Herricks Road grade crossing at 2:18 AM, killing the 19-year-old driver and 8 of the 9 passengers, while leaving the lone surviving van passenger in critical condition.[14][15][16][17] The teenagers were attempting to beat the train and drove around the lowered gates when the train struck their van.[14][15][16] The National Transportation Safety Board labeled the Herricks Road grade crossing as being the most hazardous in the United States, what with an average of 20,000 cars and 200 trains traversing the grade crossing daily.[15][16][18]

Following the crash, the grade crossing at Herricks Road was eliminated. An underpass was constructed to allow CR 8 to travel underneath the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line instead of intersecting it at-grade.[14][15][18][19] The bridge carrying the tracks over Herricks Road opened on April 28, 1998, after 5 years of construction.[15]

See also

References
  1. Nassau County Department of Public Works (1959). "Master Plan for Nassau County". Nassau County Department of Public Works.
  2. "Nassau County Road Jurisdiction Viewer" (Map). nassau-county.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  3. New York State Department of Transportation (July 1, 2020). County Roads Listing – Nassau County (PDF) (Report). Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  4. "Nassau-Suffolk County Road History". NYC Roads. Archived from the original on January 3, 2009. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  5. "Long Island Index: Interactive Map". www.longislandindexmaps.org. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  6. "Nassau County Route 8 - Shelter Rock Road". East Coast Roads. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  7. Galant, Richard (September 3, 1971). "Traffic Roar Backfires on Ears". Newsday. p. 6 – via ProQuest.
  8. Rather, John (1999-02-28). "Shelter Rock Facing an Uncertain Future". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  9. Mosco, Steve (2015-09-20). "What is Shelter Rock?". Manhasset Press. Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  10. Hanscom, Leslie (July 28, 1971). "A 2,600-Ton Landmark Few Know". Newsday. p. 16 – via ProQuest.
  11. Pulitzer, Lisa (November 28, 1993). "Off a Historic Road, Decorators Show Off Historic Houses". The New York Times. p. LI13. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  12. "County OKs $12 Million For '61 Road Program". Newsday. January 31, 1961. p. 15 – via ProQuest.
  13. Google (September 3, 2021). "County Route 8 (Nassau County, New York)" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  14. McQuiston, John T. (June 16, 1985). "Grade Crossing Plans Readied for Mineola: Crossing Plans Set". The New York Times. pp. 1, 4. Retrieved 2022-11-14.
  15. Draffen, Duayne (April 28, 1998). "16 Years After Death of 9 Teen-Agers, Rail Bridge Opens". The New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  16. Bernstein, James (March 15, 1982). "Drivers Say Gates Often Balky". Newsday. p. 17 – via ProQuest.
  17. Young, Gwen (June 3, 1991). "Deaths AND Delays: 9 Tragic Deaths Prod Mom In Quest of a Safer Crossing". Newsday. pp. 1, 3, 19 – via ProQuest.
  18. Morris, Tom (July 21, 1982). "NY Plan: Cut LIRR Crossings: NY Seeks to Cut LIRR Crossings $65-million proposal would eliminate Herricks Road crossing, 5 others in Mineola". Newsday. pp. 1, 3 – via ProQuest.
  19. "... but after 20 perilous years, Mineola grade crossings are finally to be rebuilt". Newsday. March 22, 1993. p. 34 – via ProQuest.
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