This story was updated at 7:45 p.m. on 12.8.13.
The Long Beach Bridge was temporarily closed Sunday evening after multiple accidents were reported due to icy conditions on the Nassau County-owned structure that connects the city to Island Park.
Follow Long Beach Patch on Facebook.
Find out what's happening in Long Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Nassau County police sent a media alert at 6:13 p.m. Sunday announcing that the bridge was closed in both directions “due to icy conditions.” At 8:35 p.m., police announced that the bridge had reopened in both directions.
While Nassau County police did not respond to a request for information about the bridge's closure and reported multiple-car accidents on Sunday, the Long Beach Police Department indicated the accident occurred while stormy weather rolled through the barrier island early Sunday evening.
Find out what's happening in Long Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“I'm told they closed it due to multiple accidents caused by an icing condition,” Lt. Eric Cregeen, an LBPD spokesman, told Patch.
Cregeen noted that the city’s Department of Public Works responded to the scene at about 8 p.m. and put sand down on the icy bridge to make the roadway safer so that it could be reopened to traffic.County Leg. Denise Ford (R-Long Beach) told Patch that she was deeply concerned about the bridge closure and asked the county's public works department for details about it.
“This is extremely critical as we do not have an emergency room on the barrier island and rely on the bridge remaining open, especially for emergencies," Ford said.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
