In summer 1955, Walter Shirley and the Shirley-Mastic Chamber of Commerce broke ground and invited 12,000 people to initiate the building of the new Smith Point Bridge to Fire Island. The bridge opened on July 4, 1959. The bridge that spans one-quarter mile represented the first step by Suffolk County to preserve 810 miles of shore frontage for public purposes.
The new bridge, scheduled to begin in 2024, will include an additional 12-foot-wide walkway as well as new recreational courts and bathrooms for the park. According to Suffolk County, the new bridge, estimated to cost 112 million dollars, will be a fixed bridge and have a 55-foot vertical clearance. There will be a more than 300-foot-long, handicap-accessible fishing pier underneath the bridge. Opening day is scheduled for some time in 2027.
