The Cross Island Parkway is a

parkway A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, part of the Belt System running along the perimeter of the

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The Cross Island Parkway runs from the

Whitestone Expressway Whitestone may refer to: Places * Whitestone, Alaska, an unincorporated community * Whitestone, Devon, a village in the United Kingdom * Whitestone, Ontario, a township in Canada and a community within the township * Whitestone, Queens, a neig ...

(

Interstate 678 Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and a ...

or I-678) in Whitestone past the

Throgs Neck Bridge The Throgs Neck Bridge is a suspension bridge in New York City, carrying six lanes of Interstate 295 (I-295) over the East River where it meets the Long Island Sound. The bridge connects the Throggs Neck section of the Bronx with the Bay Ter ...

, along and across the border of Queens and Nassau County to meet up with the

Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway; abbreviated as SO on signage) is a limited-access highway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt and ...

, acting as a sort of separation point which designates the limits of New York City. The road is designated as New York State Route 907A (NY 907A), an unsigned reference route, and bears the honorary name 100th Infantry Division Parkway. Being a part of the "Belt System", its exit numbering is a continuation of the

Belt Parkway The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as ...

, with exit numbers increasing north. At exit 25A (

), the Cross Island Parkway becomes the Belt Parkway (more specifically, the section once known as the

Laurelton Parkway Laurelton may refer to: *Laurelton, Queens, New York City * Laurelton, New Jersey *Laurelton, Pennsylvania Laurelton is a census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Ce ...

). Before its exits were renumbered to align with the Belt Parkway, they were numbered to co-align with the

, which is why that parkway begins with exit 13 (the Cross Island Parkway was once exits 1 to 12).

Route description

The Cross Island Parkway begins at an interchange with the

and the

in the

Cambria Heights Cambria Heights is a residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Elmont, Nassau County border on the east, Qu ...

section of

. A short distance after exit 25B, which serves

Linden Boulevard Linden Boulevard is a boulevard in New York City. It starts off at Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn as a one-way street to Caton Avenue, where it becomes a two-way boulevard, and stretches through both Brooklyn and Queens. This boulevard, esp ...

, forks off the Cross Island. The parkway runs northward along the Queens-

Nassau Nassau may refer to: Places Bahamas *Nassau, Bahamas, capital city of the Bahamas, on the island of New Providence Canada *Nassau District, renamed Home District, regional division in Upper Canada from 1788 to 1792 *Nassau Street (Winnipeg), ...

county line upon leaving the interchange, running between Cambria Heights in Queens and Nassau's town of Hempstead (Elmont and Bellerose Terrace) as it enters

Belmont Park Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse racing facility in the northeastern United States, located in Elmont, New York, just east of the New York City limits. It was opened on May 4, 1905. It is operated by the non-profit New York Racin ...

. In Belmont Park, the Cross Island enters exit 26A, the first of two gated-entrance exit ramps for Belmont Park parking lots. After crossing under Belmont Park Road, the parkway enters exit 26B, a

partial cloverleaf interchange A partial cloverleaf interchange or parclo is a modification of a cloverleaf interchange. The design has been well received, and has since become one of the most popular freeway-to- arterial interchange designs in North America. It has also be ...

which serves

NY 24 New York State Route 24 (NY 24) is a east–west state highway on Long Island in the U.S. state of New York. The highway is split into two segments, with the longest and westernmost of the two extending from an interchange with In ...

(Hempstead Avenue in Queens Village and Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont). Paralleling the race track, the Cross Island Parkway continues north, passing west of Belmont Park's Long Island Rail Road station, where southbound exit 26C forks to NY 24. Exit 26D is the final entrance ramp to Belmont Park and also provides access to

UBS Arena UBS Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York directly adjacent to the New York City limits. Opened in 2021, it is the home of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing Nassau C ...

and the Elmont Long Island Rail Road station. After exit 26D, the Cross Island Parkway crosses under the

Long Island Rail Road The Long Island Rail Road , often abbreviated as the LIRR, is a commuter rail system in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of New York, stretching from Manhattan to the eastern tip of Suffolk County on Long Island. With an average week ...

main line then Superior Road before crossing into the Nassau County hamlet of Bellerose Terrace. After the crossing, the parkway enters exit 27, a

cloverleaf interchange A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...

with NY 25 (Braddock Avenue and Jericho Turnpike) and

Jamaica Avenue Jamaica Avenue is a major avenue in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, New York, in the United States. Jamaica Avenue's western end is at Broadway and Fulton Street, as a continuation of East New York Avenue, in Brooklyn's ...

before crossing back into Queens. A short distance later, the parkway enters exit 28A, serving NY 25B (Hillside Avenue) via a

diamond interchange A diamond interchange is a common type of road junction, used where a controlled-access highway crosses a minor road. Design The freeway itself is grade-separated from the minor road, one crossing the other over a bridge. Approaching the ...

and exit 28B for Union Turnpike via a collector-distributor road. Now proceeding northwest, the Cross Island crosses under Union Turnpike and enters exit 29, a

trumpet interchange In the field of road transport, an interchange (American English) or a grade-separated junction (British English) is a road junction that uses grade separations to allow for the movement of traffic between two or more roadways or highways, usi ...

with the Grand Central Parkway. After crossing under the multitude of lanes that make up the interchange and the Grand Central Parkway, the Cross Island Parkway crosses under Douglaston Parkway and enter

Alley Pond Park Alley Pond Park is the second-largest public park in Queens, New York City, occupying . The park is bordered to the east by Douglaston, to the west by Bayside, to the north by Little Neck Bay, and to the south by Union Turnpike. The Cross ...

. The Cross Island parallels the Douglaston Parkway northwest for a stretch, entering exit 30, a trumpet interchange with the

Long Island Expressway Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music me ...

(I-495) in Alley Pond Park. The parkway parallels Alley Creek as it bends further to the northwest, entering exit 31, a partial cloverleaf interchange with NY 25A (Northern Boulevard) and the Alley Pond Environmental Center. Past the junction, the highway continues on a northwestward track as it passes under the

Port Washington Branch The Port Washington Branch is an electrified two-track rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. It branches north from the Main Line at the former Winfield Junction station, just eas ...

of the Long Island Rail Road and begins to run along the western edge of

Little Neck Bay Little Neck Bay is an embayment in western Long Island, New York, off Long Island Sound. Little Neck Bay forms the western boundary of the Great Neck Peninsula, the eastern boundary of which is Manhasset Bay. The political boundary between Nassa ...

. After a pedestrian crossover, the parkway passes a parking lot for Bayside Marina, accessible only via the parkway's northbound lanes. The Cross Island Parkway soon leaves the side of Little Neck Bay and passes south of Fort Totten Military Reservation. While south of Fort Totten, the parkway enters exit 32, a diamond interchange with Bell Boulevard. A short distance later, the parkway enters another diamond interchange, exit 33, this time for the

Clearview Expressway Clearview or clear view may refer to: Entertainment * ''Clearview'' (album), the seventh studio album by the Finnish rock band Poets of the Fall Companies * Clearview AI, a facial recognition company * Clearview Cinemas, a chain of movie thea ...

(I-295) and the

. The northbound lanes also boast a ramp for

Utopia Parkway ''Utopia Parkway'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Fountains of Wayne. It was released by Atlantic Records in April 1999. Background The album was written by Chris Collingwood and Adam Schlesinger with the intention of em ...

(signed as exit 34). After crossing under Utopia Parkway, the Cross Island enters the Whitestone section of Queens, where southbound, an exit 34 serves 160th Street and Utopia Parkway. Cross Island Parkway at Exit 35

Continuing west, the Cross Island Parkway crosses through Whitestone, crossing under Clintonville Street, 150th-149th Streets and 14th Avenue before entering exit 35 southbound, serving 14th Avenue and

Francis Lewis Boulevard Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. The roadway is named for Francis Lewis, a Queens resident who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. The boulevard zigzags across Queens by inc ...

. After crossing under 147th Street, the parkway enters exit 36, a partial diamond interchange with the

(I-678), which proceeds north to the

Bronx–Whitestone Bridge The Bronx–Whitestone Bridge (colloquially referred to as the Whitestone Bridge or simply the Whitestone) is a suspension bridge in New York City, carrying six lanes of Interstate 678 over the East River. The bridge connects Throggs Neck and ...

and southbound towards

John F. Kennedy International Airport John F. Kennedy International Airport (colloquially referred to as JFK Airport, Kennedy Airport, New York-JFK, or simply JFK) is the main international airport serving New York City. The airport is the busiest of the seven airports in the Avia ...

. This interchange also serves as the northern terminus of the Cross Island Parkway.

History

Design

The Cross Island Parkway was first proposed in 1930 by

Robert Moses Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...

, President of the New York State Council of Parks, as part of a $20 million (1930

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) plan to construct several parks and parkways throughout

. This proposal also included proposals for the Richmond Parkway and the corridor of the Grand Central Parkway. The proposal was held at the Hotel Commodore in Manhattan during the Park Association of New York City annual dinner, which had an attendance of 500 civic leaders. While the group accepted the idea, there were certain complaints about costs of the new projects, which were centered between

and

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...

. The city had about $400 million in borrowing capacity, and that most of these projects should wait and be dealt with one at a time for funding by their importance. The project for the Cross Island soon became the northernmost part of the "Circumferential Parkway", a new roadway that would start at Owl's Head Park and run along the southern shores of

and Queens. The Cross Island Parkway piece would begin at the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (then under construction), cross through the neighborhoods of Whitestone, Bayside and Alley Park and run along the Nassau County border until reaching the

, which would connect the Cross Island and the Southern Parkway. In December 1937, Moses, now commissioner of the

New York City Parks Department The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, also called the Parks Department or NYC Parks, is the department of the government of New York City responsible for maintaining the city's parks system, preserving and maintaining the ecolog ...

, recommended the Cross Island, along with the other parkways proposed in Brooklyn, Queens,

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

would cost about $8,026,182 (1937 USD) to acquire land for and that it would erase numerous bottlenecks throughout the city. In June 1938, the Regional Plan Association proposed 27 new parks throughout the city, including three that would serve the purpose of helping construct the Cross Island Parkway. The first, an approach to the Whitestone Bridge, the city had recently gotten control of, the second; a park along Little Bay, a section of the

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

that would also connect to the Clearview golf course. The final piece was a section near

Willets Point Willets Point, also known locally as the Iron Triangle, is an industrial neighborhood within Corona, in the New York City borough of Queens. Located east of Citi Field near the Flushing River, it is known for its automobile shops and junkyard ...

that also included Little Bay, Little Neck Bay and connecting to Alley Park. The Regional Plan Association, in coordination with Moses, requested these new park ideas as urgent, and would help improve the parkway system through New York City. The Circumferential Parkway, which would cost $28,5 million (1938 USD), was accepted on October 13, 1938; the

State of New York New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. state ...

and the city provided $16,5 million, while the other $12 million came from the

Public Works Administration The Public Works Administration (PWA), part of the New Deal of 1933, was a large-scale public works construction agency in the United States headed by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes. It was created by the National Industrial Reco ...

. The city could not take on any more debt to fund the project, leading the New York City controller to recommend that the parkway be delayed. To provide funding for the new parkway, money for a new courthouse for the Appellate Division had to be eliminated, along with

subway Subway, Subways, The Subway, or The Subways may refer to: Transportation * Subway, a term for underground rapid transit rail systems * Subway (underpass), a type of walkway that passes underneath an obstacle * Subway (George Bush Intercontin ...

improvements and additional funding from the 1939 capital budget. The borough of Manhattan paid 66% of the cost, while Queens and Brooklyn each paid 17%. The new parkway would help connect other transportation facilities throughout Brooklyn and Queens, and as a result, plans for a connection to South Brooklyn and the West Side and East Side Highways. The city also appropriated $3.327 million for the land acquisition for the new alignment, plus the engineering work. Moses notified the board that he had $5 million worth of contracts to let so that work could start as soon as possible. The board also accepted the $12 million federal contribution for the new project. The name of the parkway system was changed in December 1938 from the "Circumferential Parkway" to the Belt Parkway, on request by

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry LaGuardia (; born Fiorello Enrico LaGuardia, ; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the House of Representatives and served as the 99th Mayor of New York City from ...

, who settled an argument of different names, one of which included using the last three letters of Brooklyn and the first three of Queens to make the Lynque Parkway. However, people felt that name was a bit too absurd and Moses and the city agreed to the new Belt name, and removed the former name due to many people who could not pronounce the former name. Another proposed name for the new roadway, among others, was suggested by LaGuardia, calling the road the

Ringstrasse The Vienna Ring Road (german: Ringstraße, lit. ''ring road'') is a 5.3 km (3.3 mi) circular grand boulevard that serves as a ring road around the historic Innere Stadt (Inner Town) district of Vienna, Austria. The road is located on sites wher ...

Parkway. The Queens section of the Belt Parkway was ultimately named Cross Island Parkway, usurping that name from the parallel

Construction

Almost immediately after the parkway was approved by the city, bids were flowing in for new project contracts to construct the new parkways. The Belt system would be constructed via numerous contracts, which involved grading the new parkway, constructing bridges, and paving the new highway. 66 spans of bridges were going to be constructed for the entire system, with the section of the Cross Island Parkway between Fort Totten and the Whitestone Bridge approach being bid on by December 23, 1938. By this point, already seven contracts totaled at over $5 million (1938 USD). S.J. Grover and Sons, a firm based out of

Ridgefield, New Jersey } Ridgefield is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 11,032,Springfield, Queens Springfield Gardens is a neighborhood in the southeastern area of the New York City borough of Queens, bounded to the north by St. Albans, to the east by Laurelton and Rosedale, to the south by John F. Kennedy International Airport, and to the w ...

, between Arthur Street and Brookville Boulevard, as well as a vehicular bridge over the Cross Island Parkway at Springfield Boulevard and 225th Street. The project went to Petracca and Banco of St. Albans. In January 1939, the state government received bids for the construction of the interchange between the Whitestone and Cross Island parkways. On February 4, 1939,

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor h ...

Herbert Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York. He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the U.S. Senate from 194 ...

gave permission to let the city construct the Cross Island Parkway piece that crossed into Nassau County. Known as the Bennett-Numan Bill, the bill also required the city to maintain and enforce laws on the Nassau County portion of the new roadway. By February 1939, the project was already 26% along, with parts of the $6.1 million (1939 USD) section of the Belt Parkway system being completed, and eleven contracts had been awarded. On February 24, 1939, the city let a contract to National Excavation Corporation for construction of the Cross Island Parkway between Hillside Avenue and 91st Avenue in Queens. The thirteenth contract of the project, let on March 10, would pave the Cross Island Parkway from Hempstead Turnpike to Linden Boulevard, a long stretch in Queens, a new separation between 115th Avenue and one at Linden Boulevard. Good Roads Engineering and Contracting Company of

Wantagh Wantagh ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 18,871 at the time of the 2010 census. Wantagh is known as "The Gateway to Jones ...

won the contract with a bid of $597,794. On March 21, 1939, bids were opened to construct three new bridges along the Cross Island Parkway in Whitestone; the Elmhurst Contracting Company of

Corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...

received the contract. On March 22, the city offered a contract of the grade separation of the Cross Island Parkway over the

's Main Line and its spur to

, along with separation for nearby Superior Road. The project also included paving of the Cross Island between

and Hempstead Avenue. The contract went to the National Excavation Corporation. The state also received bids for paving the Cross Island between 46th Avenue and the Grand Central Parkway; the low bidder for that contract was Andrew Weston Inc. By March 31, 1939, the twentieth contract for the system was let, constructing a new bridge for the Grand Central Parkway to cross over Winchester Boulevard and westbound Grand Central traffic over the Cross Island Parkway. On June 13, 1939, bids for construction of the new interchange between the Laurelton Parkway,

and construction of the new parkway between Linden Boulevard and 129th Avenue. Landscaping of the new parkway began around September, when topsoiling and gardening began between the Creedmore State Hospital and Laurelton Parkway. By December, 92% of the landscaping contracts had been announced, with the recent section between the Grand Central Parkway and Fort Totten.

Opening

While construction continued on the Belt Parkway system, including the Cross Island Parkway, construction was wrapping up on construction of the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, which opened with a ceremony on April 29, 1939. LaGuardia and Moses both praised the construction of the Cross Island Parkway as the important part of the Whitestone side of the new bridge. By 1940, final bids on the new project were still coming in for the Belt Parkway projects, which included a contract let on April 17, 1940 for new fencing along the three parkways. Ross Galvanizing Works in Brooklyn won the contract for fencing between North Conduit Avenue and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge along the Southern, Laurelton and Cross Island. On May 22, 1940, a contract was let to Frank Mascali and Sons, which paved, drained, filled and graded sections of the Cross Island Parkway between the Grand Central and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. Two hundred construction workers formally toured the parkway on June 8, 1940. It was announced that the entire Belt Parkway system, long, would open to traffic on June 29, 1940, with a ceremonial trip along the entire roadway. With a final total of nearly $30 million (1940 USD), the road was complete except for a portion between Plumb Island and Ocean Parkway near

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

. The due date on the Public Works Administration funding, set for June 30, 1940, was met, and the new parkway would have Moses, LaGuardia and the administrator of the PWA, John Carmody. The new parkway was groomed overnight by 1,700 workers to prepare for the opening. The general public was allowed to use the new parkway after the special dignitaries car had passed. The project also included the addition or renovation of several playgrounds and public parks, such as Crocheron Park.

Later years

In 1952, the

Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), doing business as MTA Bridges and Tunnels, is an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that operates seven toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City. In terms of traf ...

awarded a $920,000 contract to widen about of the Cross Island Parkway from four to six lanes. As a result of this project, nearly all of the Belt Parkway system was six lanes wide, except for a four-lane section in Laurelton. The TBTA also installed overhead navigational signs at several interchanges in 1953. The state announced a plan to renovate the Long Island Expressway (I-495) in the vicinity of

and the Cross Island Parkway in 1995. In 2000, Pataki and New York City mayor

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

announced that the segment of I-495 near Alley Pond Park and the Cross Island Parkway, would be rebuilt at a cost of $112 million. Work started in August 2000 and was substantially completed by 2005. The project included the restoration of within the park, as well as the construction of new ramps between I-495 and the Cross Island Parkway at exit 30. As part of the reconstruction, two cloverleaf ramps were replaced with flyovers; the shoulders in each direction were converted into travel lanes; and new collector-distributor ramps were installed on I-495 east of the Cross Island Parkway interchange.

Exit list

Exit numbers continue from with those of the

References

External links

{{NYSR external links, alps=cip, termini=cross_island
Cross Island Parkway @ NYCROADS.com
Parkways in New York City Parkways in New York (state) Transportation in Queens, New York Transportation in Nassau County, New York Robert Moses projects Beltways in the United States