Road Closures Anticipated as Bethpage Black Prepares for Ryder Cup
Farmingdale residents and drivers should prepare for temporary road closures in the coming weeks as Bethpage Black gears up to host the prestigious Ryder Cup golf tournament later this month. The closures are necessary to facilitate the extensive preparations for the event, which require over 1.7 million square feet of infrastructure.
Several key roads surrounding Bethpage State Park will be affected. Round Swamp Road, between Winding Road and Quaker meeting House Road, will be closed at specific times during the setup phase. Quaker Meeting House Road will experience daily closures from September 22nd through September 29th, between 4:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Clubhouse Road,accessible from the Bethpage State Parkway,will be restricted to rideshare vehicles only,beginning September 23rd,from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.daily.
Ryder Cup operations manager Evan Crowder explained the reasoning behind the schedule. “We’ve asked for specific times so we can bring a bunch of trucks in at once,” he said, emphasizing the goal of a smooth operation wiht minimal disruption to local residents. “We work very closely with everybody in the surrounding neighborhood and we try to be as least impactful on their day-to-day lives as possible.”
Local driver luis Tejada echoed the sentiment of many in the community, stating, “It will problably be a little bit of an inconvenience.”
Despite the potential difficulties, Beth Mignone of the Farmingdale Chamber of Commerce sees a positive side. “It’s definitely going to be inconvenient for people, but it’s a pretty prestigious event for them to bring to our town. Hopefully it will bring some business to Main Street,” she said.
For those traveling to the Ryder Cup,the long Island Rail Road (LIRR) will be increasing service to accommodate the expected influx of visitors,adding extra trains alongside its regular schedule to ease travel to and from the event.
