Shinnecock leader blasts Sunrise Highway express lane plan for U.S. Open

A plan to turn part of Sunrise Highway into an express lane for the 2026 U.S. Open has ignited a sovereignty fight on Shinnecock land, with Shinnecock leader Lisa Goree saying the tribe was not consulted before the idea surfaced. What transportation planners call traffic management is landing in Southampton as a dispute over who gets to decide what happens on land the Shinnecock Nation says it has protected for generations.

The roadwork question is tied directly to one of the East End’s biggest events. The U.S. Open is scheduled for June 15 to 21, 2026 at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, with championship rounds set for June 18 to 21 and practice rounds June 15 to 17. The Town of Southampton says it expects more than 150,000 attendees during championship week at the course, which will host its fifth U.S. Open after 1896, 1986, 1995, 2004 and 2018.

Town and USGA materials say the transportation plan includes satellite parking, Long Island Rail Road service on the Montauk Branch, a temporary train platform near the course, a designated ride-share area, local road closures, general parking east and west of Shinnecock Hills and express shuttles. The town says the goal is to reduce congestion near the course and neighboring homes while maintaining a secure public-safety perimeter. Officials have also set up a community text-alert system, with residents able to subscribe by texting OPEN26 to 38276.

That logistical footprint is exactly what makes the express-lane idea so sensitive. Sunrise Highway, also known as Route 27, runs through Westwoods in Hampton Bays, land the tribe says is part of its territory. In a federal case filed Feb. 3, 2026, the Shinnecock Indian Nation argued that a 1959 easement for part of Sunrise Highway was not validly approved by federal officials and asked the court to stop New York State officials from continuing what it calls violations of federal law on restricted-fee tribal land.

The tribe’s legal position gained added weight in January 2025, when the U.S. Department of the Interior reaffirmed Shinnecock land rights in Westwoods and determined, after reviewing title records, that the parcel is within the Nation’s aboriginal territory. The filing also describes the Shinnecock Indian Nation as federally recognized since 2010. Against that backdrop, any new traffic plan crossing the same corridor is not just about moving cars for a golf tournament. It is about whether Suffolk County can reshape a public road around a private event timeline without first securing the tribe’s voice.