Directions to Stony Brook

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NANCY DUFFRIN'S DETAILED DIRECTIONS TO STONY BROOK

There are many paths that will take you Stony Brook. I am going to suggest a few basic ones chosen primarily for their simplicity and where possible “less traffic”. Those who are familiar with the area may know better shortcuts or like different routes. Feel free to modify my recommendations. I recommend studying some good maps prior to driving here. CBS AM 880 gives traffic reports on the 8's - 1:08, 1:18, 1:28, etc. Sometimes if there is a problem, you can take alternate routes.

Campus Directions: http://www.stonybrook.edu/ugadmissions/visiting/directions/
Campus Map: Stony Brook University Map

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You will approach Stony Brook on Nicolls Road , Rte 97
Enter the Main Campus Entrance. Note there is a South, a Main, and a North entrance. Coming from the south such as the L.I.E, make a left turn. Coming from the north from Rte 25A, make a right turn. (The hospital is in the other direction).

These are some recommended routes:

1. Avoid New York City and its traffic.
Come to Stony Brook, the pleasant way - take the ferry!
This is not really farther in mileage and in some cases will be less. Even though it costs $39 for car & driver, you save some bridge & thruway tolls and possibly mileage.

Take I-90 into Mass. to the Lee exit, US 20 (first exit in Mass, labeled exit 2). Take US 20 to SR8. Turn right, south on SR8. Follow SR8 into Conn. and all the way to Bridgeport. It is a 2 lane road for a while until Winsted, where it turns left onto rte 44 and then makes a right turn off Rte. 44 and becomes a 4 lane divided highway. Follow SR8 to last exit (exit 1). Go straight until you pass under the railroad tracks. Turn left. Watch for signs to the ferry. They are not very big.

When you leave the ferry, you will be on SR25A. Follow that for a little over 3 miles. Turn left on Nicolls Road. (Landmarks before Nicolls Road – you will have gone down a hill with a stop light at the bottom. There will be a group of stores, Sushi, Beer, Deli, Chinese & Indian restaurants, etc. Then there is a big road going off to the left and a stop light.—Nicolls Road which passes under the railroad tracks)

You are at the north entrance of the campus. Proceed to the Main Entrance, Right turn.

For rates, schedules, directions, check the Web site: http://www.pagelinx.com/bpjferry/ You don’t need reservations in the middle of the week. The trip takes about 1 hour 15 minutes. You can also go this way if you come across I-84. Consult a map. I highly recommend this route coming, especially if you haven’t driven in the NYC area before.

2. Those coming from Binghamton and points West may want to travel south on I-81.
Around Scranton, take I-380 south to I-80. East on I-80 to I-95N and the George Washington Bridge.

Over the George Washington Bridge, you will be on the Cross Bronx Expressway (I-95). Follow signs to the Throgs Neck Bridge. Before you get there, I-95 branches north and you follow I-295 to and over the Throgs Neck Bridge.

There will be signs to turn to Eastern LI from the bridge. Ignore them!
Stay on I-295 (Clearview Expressway) until you come to the LI Expressway, I-495 East, to Eastern Long Island.

Take the L.I.E. I-495 for many miles to exit 62, Nicolls Road .(Route 97) Go north 9 miles. Turn left in to the Main Entrance. It is the second entrance. The first one has smaller signs and says South campus. The second one has a large sign and says Main campus.

This route is the preferred one by most of those who travel from LI to Binghamton or Ithaca to colleges. The bridges take EZPass. GW bridge is very expensive. There is only a charge going East into NYC. Going back there is no toll. I recommend getting to the GW bridge by 3 p.m or after 7 p.m. to avoid the worst traffic.

3. Coming from Albany area and north or those coming across Route 17.
Take the New York State Thruway south and over the Tappan Zee Bridge. After the bridge, keep to the right. Take I-287 (Cross Westchester Expressway) to I-95. Take I-95 south.

Stay on I-95, until it splits -- follow the signs to the Throgs Neck Bridge. Not far before reaching the bridge, I-95 bears off to the right, but you go straight. You should just follow the signs to the Throgs Neck Bridge. You should be in one of the 2 left lanes.

Whatever number road (maybe I-695) gets you to the bridge from I-95, I-295 takes you over the Throgs Neck Bridge. There will be signs to turn to Eastern LI from the bridge. Ignore them! Stay on I-295 (Clearview Expressway) until you come to the LI Expressway, I-495 East, Eastern Long Island.

Take the L.I.E. I-495 for many miles to exit 62, Nicolls Road .(Route 97) Go north 9 miles. Turn left into the Main Entrance. It is the second entrance. The first one has smaller signs and says South campus. The second one has a larger sign and says Main campus.

I recommend getting to the Throgs Neck Bridge by 3:30 p.m or after 7 p.m. to avoid the really really bad traffic.

Nancy Duffrin
Director of Instructional Computing