The renovated Cherry Valley Avenue overpass in Garden City on Sunday.

The renovated Cherry Valley Avenue overpass in Garden City on Sunday. Credit: Johnny Milano

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled a newly raised and renovated overpass in Garden City Sunday — overhauling a structure that often caused traffic delays and posed safety concerns as the most-struck railroad bridge on Long Island.

The overpass carries the Long Island Rail Road’s Hempstead Branch line over Cherry Valley Avenue in Garden City. The former 10 feet, 4 inches of clearance was raised by more than 4 feet, creating a 14-foot-5-inch vehicular clearance, MTA officials said. The height of the bridge was raised to reduce strikes by large trucks.

The Cherry Valley Avenue bridge was hit by vehicles 162 times from 2010 to 2022, more than triple the number of the second-most-struck railroad bridge, at St. James and Chestnut streets also in Garden City, which was struck 50 times in the 12-year period.

“The LIRR continues to move forward by modernizing the system with upgraded stations, better schedules and service and resilient infrastructure,” LIRR interim president Catherine Rinaldi said in a news release. “The old bridge at Cherry Valley Avenue was hit by trucks more than any other bridge in the system, creating delays and compromising safety. The new, higher bridge creates a stronger railroad for our customers and the region.”

The MTA has raised the heights of seven bridges in Nassau County since 2018, including what was the third-most-struck bridge, a low-lying 1911-era bridge at Nassau Boulevard in Garden City. MTA officials said this project is part of a $17.7 billion investment to modernize the LIRR, which they said is funding more than 100 projects, including the recent opening of service to Grand Central Madison station.

“Raising this bridge is yet another investment that the MTA is making to ensure that Long Islanders have a safe, modern, reliable and resilient form of transit,” said MTA Construction and Development President Jamie Torres-Springer.

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