Some road closures are beginning while evacuations are underway as Hurricane Irene is hours away from approaching Long Island.

Route 878 and the Atlantic Beach Bridge connecting Long Beach island with Long Island is exclusively being used for northbound traffic only as of 6 a.m. Once wind speeds reach 55 mph Saturday night, the road will be closed completely, according to Nassau County police.

In the Town of Southampton, Dune Road was closed to at 10 a.m.

Major bridges off Long Island have suspended tolls while parts of New [lacrosse] City are evacuated. They include the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial, Memorial Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial, Verrazano-Narrows, Throgs Neck and Whitestone bridges.

Those bridges and others will be closed once winds reach more than 60 mph, officials said.