Interstate 295 (New York)

Interstate 295 marker

Interstate 295

Map of New York City area with I 295 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT and MTAB&T
Length: 9.79 mi[1] (15.76 km)
History: Completed in 1963 as I-78;[2][3] renumbered to I-295 on January 1, 1970[4]
Major junctions
South end: NY 25 in Cunningham Park, Queens
  Grand Central Parkway in Cunningham Park, Queens
I-495 Fresh Meadows, Queens
Cross Island Parkway Bayside, Queens
I-695 in Throgs Neck, Bronx
North end: I-95 / I-278 / I-678 / Hutchinson River Parkway at the Bruckner Interchange
Highway system
← NY 294NY 295 →

Interstate 295 (I-295) is a connector route within New York City. Measuring 9.10 miles (14.6 km) in length, I-295 travels from the Bruckner Interchange, a junction with I-95/I-278/I-678 in The Bronx, across the toll Throgs Neck Bridge to the Grand Central Parkway in Queens. Along the route, 295 meets with I-695 (Throgs Neck Expressway), the Cross Island Parkway, and I-495 (the Long Island Expressway). In Queens, I-295 is also known as the Clearview Expressway. The highway's southern terminus is a traffic signal at Hillside Avenue (New York State Route 25 or NY 25) in the Queens neighborhood of Queens Village. However, the original plan was to extend it further south to JFK Airport. The 0.8-mile (1.3 km) JFK Expressway was intended to be part of the Clearview, but was only constructed as far north as the Belt Parkway.

Route description

Clearview Expressway in northeastern Queens
Southbound I-295 (Cross Bronx Expressway Extension) nearing the Throgs Neck tolls

The existing section of the Clearview Expressway that carries the I-295 designation begins at the unfinished interchange with NY 25 where the ramps from northbound NY 24 (212th Street) and southbound Hollis Court Boulevard merge into the northbound and southbound lanes, respectively, of the highway. The Queens section of this roadway is known as "The 77th Infantry Division Expressway", honoring the U.S. Army's 77th Infantry Division of World War I and World War II fame; raised from draftees from New York City and Long Island, the 77th was also known as the Statue of Liberty Division, due to its shoulder-sleeve insignia.[5] This Queens expressway instantly runs beneath a stack interchange with the Grand Central Parkway before immediately entering Cunningham Park. The Clearview leaves Cunningham Park at the interchange with Long Island Expressway, which used to be the eastern terminus of I-495 until the mid-1980s.

Shortly north of the I-495 interchange, the northbound off-ramp and southbound on-ramp at NY 25A split, then run under a pedestrian bridge that connects 46th Avenue. Other pedestrian bridges cross over the highway near 42nd Avenue and at 33rd Avenue. The northbound exit 5 uses 206th Street as a de facto service road, while 207th Street is used in the same way for the northbound on-ramps. Real service roads run beneath the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road to connect NY 25A and 35th Avenue (exit 6A). The service roads merge into the expressway north of 26th Avenue (exit 6B).

The northbound partial interchange with Willets Point & Bell Boulevards leads to Cross Island Parkway, while a southbound interchange leads to the southbound Cross Island Parkway, all before reaching the Throgs Neck Bridge. The expressway then crosses the bridge.

After the Throgs Neck toll booth in the Bronx, I-295 becomes part of the Cross Bronx Expressway Extension. Just north of the toll booth, northbound access to Harding Avenue and Pennyfield Avenue is barely noticeable, as it is right next to the Y-interchange with I-695 (Throgs Neck Expressway), which takes motorists to northbound I-95. The only other interchange between there and the terminus is Randall Avenue.

I-295, running northwest, gains service roads for a mile until it finally ends at its parent route at the Bruckner Interchange, but only includes access to southbound I-95, and I-278.

History

A 1964 highway map showing the completed section of the Clearview Expressway (green), and the unbuilt extension to the Nassau Expressway (red).

The Clearview Expressway and Cross Bronx Expressway Extension were proposed in 1955 by the Port Authority and Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) as part of the Port Authority's Joint Study of Arterial Facilities, in order to connect with the planned Throgs Neck Bridge. The Cross Bronx extension was planned to connect the bridge to several highways at the Bruckner Circle (now the Bruckner Interchange), while the Clearview was intended to connect with Horace Harding Boulevard (later the Long Island Expressway) in order to serve motorists from Long Island.[6][7][8] Initially, the Clearview was intended to run along the existing right-of-ways of Utopia Parkway and Francis Lewis Boulevard.[6][7][9] An alternate proposed routing would have ran along Little Neck Bay and through Alley Pond Park, essentially parallel to the Cross Island Parkway.[10] By September 1956, the Clearview was mapped along 206th and 207th Streets and Hollis Court Boulevard, east of Francis Lewis Boulevard, after community opposition.[9][11][12][13] The reroute reduced the amount of properties to be demolished or relocated from 860 to 421. An information center was set up by the TBTA for local residents displaced by the expressway.[9][11][14]

The planning of the Clearview Expressway route by Robert Moses is documented in Robert Caro's biography of Moses, The Power Broker. A passage describes Moses and TBTA officials surveying potential routes for the highway in Queens, accidentally coming across protesters against the expressway.[15][16]

Construction on the Clearview Expressway and Throgs Neck Bridge began in September 1957.[17][18][19] As part of the project, land was taken from Clearview Park, the defunct Bayside Golf Course, and Cunningham Park.[18][19][20][21] Meanwhile, hundreds of homes were physically relocated from the path of the expressway. Many of these houses were placed in planned communities built on the sites of the Bayside Golf Course, and the Oakland Country Club in Oakland Gardens.[11][22] The Cross Bronx extension, the Throgs Neck Bridge, and the portion of the Clearview Expressway north of 73rd Avenue in Queens were opened on January 11, 1961.[23][24][25] An extension of the Clearview south to Hillside Avenue (now NY 25) was opened to traffic on August 12, 1963. It was the first of several highways built to serve the 1964 New York World's Fair.[26] Because of the steep hill at the end of the expressway leading to Hillside Avenue, the junction quickly became a frequent spot for accidents. This led to the implementation of a 40 mile-per-hour speed limit at the end of the highway, which remains in effect today.[27] The modern Bruckner Interchange was opened on January 4, 1972.[28]

The Cross Bronx Expressway Extension and the Clearview Expressway were originally designated as part of I-78,[26][29][30] which was to continue south from Hillside Avenue through Southeast Queens, and west across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan to the Holland Tunnel. Under these plans, the Clearview would have been extended south to NY 27 (Conduit Avenue) and the Belt Parkway, or to the Nassau Expressway and Rockaway Boulevard, in Laurelton near JFK Airport.[31][32][33] Later plans had the Clearview ending farther east, intersecting with the Belt Parkway at its interchange with the Southern State Parkway.[34] Ultimately, nearly all sections of I-78 between the Holland Tunnel and Hillside Avenue, including the Lower Manhattan Expressway, Bushwick Expressway, and the Clearview extension were cancelled by Governor Nelson Rockefeller in 1971. The only portion to be constructed was the short section of the Nassau Expressway near JFK Airport.[7][29][35][36] This resulted in the renumbering of all of I-78 north of Hillside Avenue to I-295 on January 1, 1970.[4] There have been 21st Century proposals to extend the Clearview south to feed into the JFK Expressway, via an underground tunnel.[37][38]

In February 2003, the Clearview Expressway was renamed "The 77th Infantry Division Expressway".[39][40]

Exit list

BoroughLocationmi[1][41]kmExitDestinationsNotes
QueensCunningham Park0.000.00– NY 25 (Hillside Avenue)At-grade intersection
0.170.271 Grand Central Parkway – RFK Bridge, Eastern Long IslandNew York City's only stack interchange;
exit 21 on Grand Central Parkway
0.811.302Union TurnpikeFormerly NY 25C
1.312.11373rd AvenueSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
Fresh Meadows1.702.744 I-495 (Long Island Expressway) – Manhattan, Eastern Long IslandSigned as 4E (east) and 4W (west); exit 27 on I-495
2.704.355 NY 25A (Northern Boulevard)Access to Flushing Hospital Medical Center
Bayside3.305.316A35th AvenueSigned as exit 6 northbound
4.206.766B26th AvenueSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
4.917.907Willets Point BoulevardNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
5.418.718 Cross Island Parkway south – Eastern Long IslandSouthbound exit and northbound entrance;
exit 33 on Cross Island Parkway
East River5.44–
7.31		8.75–
11.76		Throgs Neck Bridge
The BronxLocust Point7.7112.419Harding Avenue / Pennyfield Avenue – Fort Schuyler
Throggs Neck8.0412.9410 I-695 north to I-95 north – New Haven, CT, New Rochelle, White PlainsNorthbound exit and southbound entrance;
southern terminus of I-695
8.8114.1811Randall Avenue
9.7915.7612 I-278 west (Bruckner Expressway) – ManhattanNorthbound exit and southbound entrance;
exit 54 on I-278; Bruckner Interchange
9.7915.76– I-95 south – George Washington Bridge, Newark, NJBruckner Interchange; exit 6A on I-95
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 208. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2012. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  2. ↑ New York and Metropolitan New York (Map) (1961–62 ed.). Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company. Sunoco. 1961.
  3. ↑ New York Happy Motoring Guide (Map) (1963 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1963.
  4. 1 2 State of New York Department of Transportation (January 1, 1970). Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State (PDF). Retrieved July 12, 2010.
  5. ↑ Boland, Ed, Jr. (January 28, 2003). "F.Y.I.". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Cost Is 600 Million: 2 Authorities to Raise Two-Thirds of Funds-Fix 1960 as Goal". The New York Times. January 17, 1955. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 "Clearview's Tail". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "Excerpts From Proposal to Meet City's Bridge and Highway Needs for Next 2 Decades". The New York Times. January 17, 1955. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 3 "Queens Approach Agreed On For New Throgs Neck Bridge". The New York Times. September 26, 1956. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Queens Road Site Still Undecided: But Estimate Board Will Fix Route Today for Disputed Clearview Expressway". The New York Times. September 19, 1957. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (January 4, 1957). "The Facts About The Clearview Expressway" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. p. 7. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  12. ↑ "Route Set". The New York Times. September 26, 1956. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  13. ↑ Crowell, Paul (May 17, 1957). "Throgs Neck Span Is Seen In Peril". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  14. ↑ "RELOCATION SPURRED; Center Set Up to Aid Persons in Path of Queens Road". The New York Times. December 31, 1956. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  15. ↑ "Clearview Expressway (I-295): Historic Overview". nycroads.com. Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  16. ↑ Caro, Robert A. (1974). The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York. Knopf. pp. 849–. ISBN 978-0-394-48076-3.
  17. ↑ Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (1961). Throgs Neck Bridge. Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  18. 1 2 "Clearview Park Golf Course: History". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Little Bay Park: History". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  20. ↑ "Cunningham Park: History". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  21. ↑ "Trees Give Way to Queens Road". The New York Times. July 25, 1961. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  22. ↑ Feron, James (August 9, 1958). "City Ready to Move 200 Houses For Clearview Route in Queens". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  23. ↑ "Throgs Bridge, Clearview Expressway Open" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. January 11, 1961. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  24. ↑ "Throgs Bridge, Clearview Expressway Open" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. Fultonhistory.com. January 11, 1961. p. 2. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  25. ↑ Phillips, McCandlish (January 12, 1961). "Throgs Neck Bridge Is Opened To No Pomp and Little Traffic". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-03-04.
  26. 1 2 "FIRST ROAD FINISHED FOR FAIR COMPLEX". The New York Times. August 11, 1963. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  27. ↑ "QUEENS JUNCTION IMPERILS DRIVERS; Hill in Jamaica Bars View of Heavily Traveled Road". The New York Times. October 27, 1963. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  28. ↑ Witkin, Richard (January 5, 1972). "City's ‘Worst Traffic Bottleneck’ Is Opened a Little". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  29. 1 2 Nassau Expressway Construction, New York City: Environmental Impact Statement. United States Department of Transportation, Federal Transit Administration, New York State Department of Transportation. 1981. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  30. ↑ New York with Sight-Seeing Guide (Map) (1962 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1962.
  31. ↑ New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Gulf Oil Company. 1960.
  32. ↑ "Expressway Plans". Regional Plan News. Regional Plan Association (73-74): 1–18. May 1964. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  33. ↑ Ingraham, Joseph C. (March 5, 1957). "State Road Plans Snarled By Political Tugs of War; Study of Long-Range Program Linked to National System Finds a Financial Muddle and Lack of Initiative". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  34. ↑ Ingraham, Joseph C. (July 14, 1966). "4 OF MOSES' ROADS GET CITY PRIORITY; Ex-Coordinator Fought 5th, the Cross-Brooklyn Route". The New York Times. p. 24. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  35. ↑ Cliness, Francis X. (March 25, 1971). "Lower Manhattan Road Killed Under State Plan". The New York Times. p. 78. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
  36. ↑ New York State Highways (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. New York State Department of Commerce. 1969.
  37. ↑ Zupan, Jeffrey M.; Barone, Richard E.; Lee, Mathew H. (January 2011). "Upgrading to World Class: The Future of the New York Region's Airports" (PDF). Regional Plan Association. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  38. ↑ Bearak, Corey (August 12, 2004). "The Public Ought To Know: City needs to improve freight access to Kennedy". TimesLedger. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  39. ↑ Newman, Philip (February 13, 2003). "Expressway now honors military unit". TimesLedger. Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  40. ↑ Wade, Jared (February 20, 2003). "EXPRESSWAY TO BE RENAMED FOR 77TH INFANTRY". Daily News (New York). Retrieved 28 February 2017.
  41. ↑ Google (January 6, 2017). "Interstate 295" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 6, 2017.

Route map: Google

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