Interstate 678

Interstate 678 follows the Van Wyck Expressway northward from John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Flushing and the Whitestone Expressway. Crossing the Whitestone Bridge, I-678 advances onto Hutchinson River Parkway to the Bruckner Interchange with I-95, I-278 and I-295. The Van Wyck Expressway is one of the most heavily traveled freeways within New York City and lengthy delays and congestion are not uncommon on Interstate 678 outbound from Kennedy Airport.

Interstate 678 New York Guides

• North - Van Wyck Expressway
• North - Whitestone Expressway / Bronx Whitestone Bridge
• South - Whitestone Expressway / Bronx Whitestone Bridge
• South - Van Wyck Expressway

The Van Wyck Expressway derives its name from Van Wyck Boulevard, the road which it replaced, and the first mayor of Greater New York, Robert Van Wyck. Van Wyck, a Columbia University Law School graduate and chief judge of the city court, rose to power as mayor of the city in 1897 by a margin of 80,000 votes. Consolidation of the city removed the mayors of Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island City from power and thus began a tumultuous tenure for Van Wyck. He lasted just one term (1897-1901) in a scandal riddled reign in which the state legislature at one point concluded Van Wyck was a "dictator". Robert Van Wyck's greatest legacy was the awarding of the first subway contract in New York City at $35 million. He died in Paris in 1918.¹

Initial planning for the Van Wyck Expressway began after World War II under transportation mogul Robert Moses. Moses envisioned a freeway connecting the Kew Gardens area with New York International Airport (JFK Airport) to provide access between the airport and Midtown Manhattan via pre-existing Grand Central Parkway (GCP) and Queens-Midtown Tunnel. The new freeway replaced Van Wyck Boulevard from Belt Parkway north to Grand Central and Interborough (Jackie Robinson) Parkways at Kew Gardens. Constructed below grade, the freeway cost $30 million and opened in 1950 between the airport and GCP.²

Roadwork continued on the Van Wyck Expressway segment between Grand Central Parkway and Northern Boulevard (NY 25) between 1961 and 1963. Tieing into the Whitestone Expressway, the $40 million extension opened in time for the 1964-65 World's Fair at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Interstate 678 was not assigned to the Van Wyck until the 1970s. Previous plans for I-678 assigned the designation west along the unconstructed Astoria Expressway and Grand Central Parkway.²

Opened in 1939, Whitestone Parkway was constructed to link the Bronx Whitestone Bridge with Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, site of the 1939-1940 World's Fair. The roadway featured 12 foot travel lanes, a wide grassy median and low stone arch bridges. The idea of upgrading the parkway arose in 1955 to connect the Bronx Whitestone Bridge to proposed freeways along Astoria and Horace Harding Boulevards. Construction commenced in 1961 to convert the roadway to accommodate commercial truck traffic with eight overall travel lanes and paved shoulders. Part of the work included building a span parallel to the existing Flushing River draw bridge. The second bridge eventually carried southbound traffic by 1963 while northbound motorists used the original span. The draw-span never opened again after completion of the $16 million Whitestone Expressway upgrade.² Subsequent construction in 2002 replaced the 1939 bridge along I-678 northbound.

Interstate 678 was designated along the Whitestone Expressway in April 1959. I-678 was also proposed at that time to turn west on the unconstructed Astoria Expressway through Queens to I-278 (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway). Cancellation of the Astoria Expressway eventually resulted in the southward extension of I-678 along the Van Wyck Expressway in 1971. Initial numbering for the Whitestone Expressway included I-595 in June 1958 and I-695 two weeks later. Interstate 695 was selected because the route would act as a loop between I-95 (Cross Bronx Expressway) and I-278 (BQE).²

The Astoria Expressway would have run west from the Whitestone Expressway at Flushing Meadow-Corona Park through northwest Queens. Two alternatives were devised for the freeway: the first followed Astoria Boulevard west from Northern Boulevard to Interstate 278 south of Grand Central Parkway; the second alternative continued west along Northern and Jackson Avenues to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Because both routes would traverse heavily populated and well established communities, the economic and social costs were too substantial and the Astoria Expressway was officially withdrawn from the planning boards in 1968.³

Connect with:
Interstate 95
Interstate 278
Interstate 495 - Long Island Expressway
Interstate 878 - Nassau Expwy / Route 878 - Rockaway Blvd
Belt Parkway
Hutchinson River Parkway

Page Updated 02-16-2012.