| Grand Central Parkway | |
|---|---|
| Route information | |
| Length: | 14.61 mi[1] (23.51 km) |
| Existed: | 1936 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: | I-278 in Astoria |
| I-495 in Flushing Meadows Park I-678 / Jackie Robinson Parkway on Kew Gardens/Kew Gardens Hills/Forest Hills/Briarwood border I-295 on the Hollis Hills/Queens Village border Cross Island Parkway on Bellerose/Douglaston/Glen Oaks/Oakland Gardens border |
|
| East end: | Northern Parkway at Queens-Nassau Co. border |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Queens |
| Highway system | |
|
Numbered highways in New York |
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The Grand Central Parkway (GCP) is a parkway that stretches from the RFK-Triborough Bridge in New York City to Nassau County on Long Island. At the Queens-Nassau border, it becomes the Northern State Parkway, which runs across the northern part of Long Island through Nassau County and into Suffolk County, where it ends in Hauppauge. The westernmost stretch (from the Triborough Bridge to exit 4) also carries a short stretch of Interstate 278. The parkway runs through Queens and passes the Cross Island Parkway, Long Island Expressway, LaGuardia Airport and Citi Field, home of the New York Mets. The North Shore Towers is situated on the parkway on the Queens-side along the Nassau County border. The parkway is designated New York State Route 907M, an unsigned reference route.
The Grand Central Parkway was first planned in 1922, as a connection between Queens Boulevard and Nassau County, helping city dwellers reach Jones Beach more easily. The original section is a parallel route to the pre-existing Union Turnpike, which was a congested street. Construction for the Parkway began in 1931, and the parkway was widened in 1961 in preparation for the 1964 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park.
The Grand Central Parkway has a few unique distinctions. First, it is apparently the only parkway in New York City to carry an elliptical black-on-white design for its trailblazer. Parkways throughout The Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island use the state-standard design, while the Belt system parkways use a modified version of the Long Island regional parkway shield with the Montauk Point Lighthouse logo. Second, it is one of the few parkways in the state to allow truck traffic to any extent. The section shared with Interstate 278 allows for small trucks—larger ones still cannot pass under the intentionally-designed low underpasses. They have to travel on Astoria Boulevard, the local service road, to reach the bridge.
The entire route is in Queens.
| Location | Mile[1] | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astoria | 0.00 | 45 | 31st Street, Astoria Boulevard | |
| Astoria, Woodside, East Elmhurst | 0.80 | 4 | I-278 west (Brooklyn-Queens Expressway) – Verrazano Bridge, Staten Island | East end of I-278 overlap |
| East Elmhurst | 1.34 | 5 | Astoria Boulevard east, 82nd Street – Marine Air Terminal, Terminal A | Exit for Delta Shuttle Flights to Boston, Chicago and Washington, DC |
| 2.26 | 6 | 94th Street – Terminal B, parking | Westbound exit is part of exit 7 | |
| 2.51 | 7 | LaGuardia Airport Terminals B, C, and D | ||
| 3.55 | 8 | 111th Street | Eastbound exit only | |
| Corona | 3.79 | 9E–W | I-678 (Whitestone Expressway) / NY 25A east (Northern Boulevard), Citi Field NY 25A west (Northern Boulevard) |
Signed as exits 9E (I-678/NY 25A east) and 9W (NY 25A west); westbound exit and eastbound entrance for 9W |
| 9P | Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Tennis Center | Westbound exit and entrance | ||
| Corona, Forest Hills | 5.10 | 10 | I-495 (Long Island Expressway) – Manhattan, Eastern Long Island | Signed as exits 10W (west) and 10E (east) |
| Forest Hills | 5.94 | 11 | 69th Road, Jewel Avenue | Signed as exits 11W (west) and 11E (east) westbound |
| 6.50 | 12 | NY 25 (Queens Boulevard) / 78th Avenue | Eastbound exit only | |
| Forest Hills, Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Briarwood | 13W | Jackie Robinson Parkway west – Brooklyn | ||
| 7.19 | 13 | I-678 south (Van Wyck Expressway) – Kennedy Airport | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | |
| Kew Gardens Hills, Briarwood | 7.53 | 14 | Union Turnpike, Main Street | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance |
| 15 | NY 25 west (Queens Boulevard) / Union Turnpike | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| Briarwood, Jamaica Hills, Hillcrest | 8.11 | 16 | Parsons Boulevard, 164th Street | Eastbound exit only |
| 17 | 168th Street | Westbound exit only | ||
| Jamaica Hills, Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates | 9.13 | 18 | Utopia Parkway | No westbound exit |
| Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Holliswood (Terrace Heights) | 9.83 | 19 | 188th Street | |
| Holliswood (Terrace Heights), Fresh Meadows, Queens Village | 10.57– 10.86 |
20 | Francis Lewis Boulevard | Signed as exits 20B (south) and 20A (north) |
| Queens Village, Hollis Hills | 11.10 | 21S–N | I-295 north (Clearview Expressway) / NY 25 (Hillside Avenue) to I-495 – Throgs Neck Bridge | |
| Bellerose, Oakland Gardens | 11.93 | 22 | Union Turnpike | Westbound exit is part of exit 23 |
| Bellerose, Oakland Gardens, Douglaston, Glen Oaks | 12.56 | 23S–N | Cross Island Parkway to I-495 / Winchester Boulevard – Alley Park | |
| Glen Oaks, Little Neck | 13.67 | 24 | Little Neck Parkway | |
| 14.61 | Northern Parkway | Continuation into Nassau County | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||
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