Long Island drivers had only bad things to say about the new construction zone speed cameras, calling the state’s new rollout a “money grab” grounded in “excessive” oversight.

The Automated Work Zone Speed Monitoring Program — a joint effort by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) and Thruway Authority (NYSTA) — rolled out 30 pilot speed cameras at work sites around Long Island on Wednesday as part of National Work Zone Awareness week.

Based on a law signed last year by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the violation-monitoring systems poised on white state-issued Jeep Grand Cherokees will trigger tickets for drivers going as little as 10 miles over the speed limit, Newsday reported.

“I think it’s getting a little excessive, especially with the speed cameras,” Hempstead resident Jordan Bishop, 33, told The Post on Friday.

Bishop, an underwriter, spoke to The Post outside the Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington — just off the Northern State Parkway, where some of the speed traps were stationed.

There were also pilot cameras posted at points along the Long Island Expressway, Meadowbrook State Parkway, Sunrise Highway and Southern State Parkway.

“I understand the school zones, slowing down in residential areas but speed cameras on the highway? C’mon, man…it’s a money grab at this point.”

As a way to keep workers safe, Long Island is launching a pilot program to crack down on drivers speeding in work zones.

Some of the areas affected include:

All all vehicles going over the speed limit would be photographed, but drivers themselves would not be recorded, Richard Causin, the NYSDOT’s Long Island director, said at a Wednesday press conference, according to Newsday.

NYSDOT spokesman Stephen Canzoneri clarified to the outlet that the cameras will only be rolled out when workers are present, and not during off-hours. There will be signs alerting drivers to the cameras at the beginning of the work zones.

For the first 30 days of the program, speeding motorists will receive mailed warnings. After the grace period, however, officials will impose fines ranging from $50 for the first violation to $100 for the third and any additional tickets for 18 months after the first error.

Chris Marro, 56, of Smithtown, agreed with Bishop’s assessment of the program.

“I can’t stand [the cameras]. I think it’s a complete money grab. I really do,” he told The Post.

Kelly Love, 25, of Huntington, said she thought the speed cameras should be “illegal.”

“It’s unnecessary money being spent,” she added.

Louise, a retired nurse from Central Islip, was similarly miffed by what she perceived as the state’s attempt to squeeze money out of taxpayers.

“I hate [the cameras]. I think they’re unnecessary because I think New York State makes enough money off of people,” she said.

“If they are speeding, they should get pulled over by a state trooper. It’s more legit.”

According to Newsday, 60 percent of the fines collected from speed violations will be funneled into work zone safety projects. The other 40 percent will go to the vendor, Verra Mobility.

While Louise agreed that drivers need to slow down in construction zones, she said safer driving would be better enforced with a bigger police presence.

“I don’t think there’s enough police … if the state is going to do that then have them do more enforcement, pick up people who are doing DUIs,” she proposed.

Despite residents’ complaints, proponents say the program will help prevent senseless roadway tragedies.

Speaking to Eyewitness News earlier this week, Karen Torres recalled her father’s 2006 death at a work site on the Sunrise Highway.

“On March 17, 2006, my dad and his crew were out filling in potholes when a cement truck driver entered the work zone,” she said.

“He was speeding, and he was also distracted — distracted by a water bottle that he reached for to grab. And by doing that, that caused him to pull the steering wheel down with him, and he veered over. And he crashed into the work zone, running over my dad.”

“These men or women put their lives on the line every day and I don’t think people really understand that. They see them more as a nuisance,” she told Newsday of the new speed trap system.

“[The cameras] really making the road safer for us.”

The Automated Work Zone Speed Monitoring Program comes several years after Nassau County axed speed cameras in school zones because drivers were being fined when classes were not in session, the Long Island Press noted. 

Jay Beeber, the director of policy and research at the National Motorists Association, told Newsday that he was open-minded yet skeptical about the program.

“We are very much in favor of Work Zone Safety and keeping workers safe. We feel that oftentimes, governments jump to enforcement first instead of using some other means to gain compliance from drivers,” he explained.