Grand Central Parkway
The Grand Central Parkway begins at Interstate 278 and the Robert F. Kennedy (Triboro) Bridge in the Astoria section of north Queens. The parkway initially carries I-278 southward from the suspension bridge to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway (BQE). Interstate 278 turns southward onto the BQE toward Brooklyn while Grand Central Parkway (GCP) extends east to LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and Flushing.
Once at Flushing and East Elmhurst, the GCP turns southward parallel to Interstate 678 (Van Wyck Expressway) through Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the Kew Gardens and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens. The two routes provide the major access roads to John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). The exchange joining the GCP with the Van Wyck Expressway and Jackie Robinson Parkway is one of the more congested within New York City. There traffic partitions from JFK Airport for Manhattan via the GCP north and the northern suburbs via Interstate 678 north.
East of Jamaica, Grand Central Parkway travels to Utopia, Hollis and Queens Village en route to a four level interchange with Interstate 295 (Clearview Expressway). The parkway travels below grade along a portion of this stretch with an expressway type design. Continuing from the top level of the exchange with I-295, the GCP advances east to meet Cross Island Parkway before exiting the city as Northern Parkway at North New Hyde Park.
Construction on Grand Central Parkway began in July 1931 at the Queens and Nassau County line. With a direct transition onto the Northern State Parkway, nine miles of the GCP opened to traffic between Kew Gardens and Glen Oaks by July 1933. Extension of the parkway northward through Flushing to the Triborough Bridge followed with a July 1936 opening. Part of the highway was built along fill at Flushing Bay. A cloverleaf interchange opened further south at the cross roads with Horace Harding Boulevard by 1939.1
Expansion of the GCP occurred in the 1960s with widening of the parkway from four to eight lanes between the Triborough Bridge and Kew Gardens, and from four to six lanes from Kew Gardens east to Glen Oaks. The $40 million project was completed by 1971. A proposal to upgrade Grand Central Parkway to freeway standards followed in 1971. Considered briefly as Interstate 478, the GCP would be upgraded to a ten lane freeway, with four lanes for trucks/buses between I-278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) and I-678 (Whitestone Expressway). Heated opposition resulted in then Governor Nelson Rockefeller withdrawing his proposal after just two months. A later change followed in 2003 with the permitting of small trucks with three axles or less on the Interstate 278 portion of the GCP between the RFK Bridge and BQE.1.
Francis Lewis Boulevard meets the GCP at a cloverleaf interchange (Exits 20A/B) adjacent to Cunningham Park near the Hollis and Queens Village communities of east Brooklyn.
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Exit 20A leaves the GCP westbound for Francis Lewis Boulevard north through Cunningham Park. The park grounds spread northward alongside the boulevard to Interstate 495 (Long Island Expressway).
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Exit 20B loops onto Francis Lewis Boulevard south to NY 25 (Hillside Avenue) and the Hollis neighborhood of Queens. Beyond Exit 20B is one of two service plazas along Grand Central Parkway.
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Grand Central Parkway continues west a quarter mile to 188th Street at Exit 19.
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Also known as Saul Weprin Street, 188th Street joins the parkway with Jamaica Estates to the south and Fresh Meadows to the north.
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A parclo interchange joins the GCP with 188th Street at Exit 19. A frontage street system stems west along the parkway from this exchange to Union Turnpike and the Kew Gardens interchange with I-678 and Jackie Robinson Parkway.
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Exit 17 provides part of a Breezewood connection from the GCP west to Interstate 678 (Van Wyck Expressway) south for John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) via the frontage street and Main Street south.
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Exit 17 connects with the GCP frontage street ahead of 168th Street at the St. John's University Queens Campus.
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Exit 17 leaves Grand Central Parkway for 168th Street and the Hillcrest and Jamaica Hills neighborhoods in Queens.
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The Grand Central Parkway drops below grade between Exit 17 and Exit 15.
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168th Street, 164th Street and Parsons Boulevard pass over Grand Central Parkway from the Jamaica Hills and Briarwood neighborhoods.
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Jackie Robinson Parkway branches southwest from Grand Central Parkway at the Kew Gardens Interchange with I-678 (Van Wyck Expressway) at forthcoming Exit 13.
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Exit 15 departs from Grand Central Parkway for NY 25 (Union Turnpike) beyond the stone arch bridge for Main Street. Union Turnpike leads east to the Kew Garden Hills and Utopia communities and west as the frontage street for Jackie Robinson Parkway.
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Union Turnpike weaves through the Kew Gardens Interchange to NY 25 (Queens Boulevard). NY 25 heads northwest from Briarwood and Kew Gardens to Rego Park and Elmhurst.
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Jackie Robinson Parkway spurs 6.8 miles southwest from Exit 13W to Forest Park and Jamaica Avenue at the Cypress Hills community. Interchanges along the parkway are numbered sequentially from 1 to 7.
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Passing below Interstate 678 (Van Wyck Expressway), Grand Central Parkway makes a northern turn into Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
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Exits 10/9P connect Grand Central Parkway with Flushing Meadows and Corona Park. Among other attractions, the park is home of the USTA Billie Jean King (BJK) National Tennis Center.
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The succeeding exits join the GCP with the couplet of 69th Road and Jewel Avenue between Willow and Meadow Lakes in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
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69th Road leads west from Exit 11W to NY 25 (Queens Boulevard) in Forest Hills, Queens. Jewel Avenue continues east toward CUNY Queens College and the Pomonok community.
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The folded diamond interchange (Exits 11E/W) with 69th Road/Jewel Avenue utilizes a collector/distributor roadway along Grand Central Parkway westbound.
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Jewel Avenue and 69th Road span Grand Central Parkway on stone arch bridges beyond a dynamic message board added in 2005.
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Interstate 495 (Long Island Expressway) meets Grand Central Parkway at a cloverleaf interchange next. The Long Island Expressway originates at the Queens Midtown Tunnel to the west and extends eastward to Riverhead.
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Queens Zoo and the New York Hall of Science lie just west of the GCP via 111th Street north from the Horace Harding Expressway frontage road along Interstate 495.
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A second entrance ramp merges onto Grand Central Parkway west from Flushing Meadows-Corona Park near Meadow Lake one quarter mile south of the c/d roadway (Exits 10E/W) for Interstate 495 (Long Island Expressway).
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Grand Central Parkway west confirming marker.
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Interstate 495 eastbound travels to the Fresh Meadows and Oakland Gardens neighborhoods before departing the city at Little Neck. The L.I.E. westbound progresses through Rego Park to Interstate 278 (BQE) and Maspeth.
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Exit 10E joins a c/d roadway along the L.I.E. eastbound ahead of ramps for nearby I-678 (Van Wyck Expressway) and College Point Boulevard.
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Interstate 495 ends 63 miles to the east of Grand Central Parkway at Riverhead.
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Interstate 495 concludes 7.5 miles to the west of Exit 10W at 37th Street and 2nd Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Grand Central Parkway advances north to Exit 9P for the BJK Tennis Center.
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References:
- Grand Central Parkway. NYCRoads.com.
Photo Credits:
- AARoads: 08/29/05
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Page Updated Sunday March 08, 2020.