The Rockaway Freeway is a road in the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

borough 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 ...

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 ...

that was created from the old right-of-way of the Long Island Rail Road

Rockaway Division The Far Rockaway Branch is an electrified rail line and service owned and operated by the Long Island Rail Road in the U.S. state of New York. The branch begins at Valley Interlocking, just east of Valley Stream station. From Valley Stream, ...

in 1941–1942 as part of the project to eliminate

grade crossings A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, overpass ...

within New York City. The railroad line itself was elevated over the new automotive route, and was incorporated into the New York City Subway system as the

IND Rockaway Line The IND Rockaway Line is a rapid transit line of the IND Division of the New York City Subway, operating in Queens. It branches from the IND Fulton Street Line at Rockaway Boulevard, extending over the Jamaica Bay, into the Rockaways. The t ...

() in June 1956. Because of the large number of concrete posts supporting the elevated subway, the Freeway has consistently been hazardous for drivers; at least one driver died from crashing into a pillar. A portion of the road, between Beach 67th Street and Beach 73rd Street, was closed permanently in 2009 to make way for a retail transit plaza in connection with the new Arverne-by-the-Sea construction development.

References

External links

"Historical Views of the Rockaways: An Attempt At Railroad Crossing Elimination In The Late 1920s"
Transportation in Rockaway, Queens Streets in Queens, New York {{NYC-road-stub