Interstate 295 (New York)

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
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Numbered highways in New York Interstate U.S. N.Y. (former) Reference County ← NY 294 NY 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. 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

The Cross Bronx Expressway Extension, the Throgs Neck Bridge, and the portion of the Clearview Expressway north of 73rd Avenue in Queens was completed c. 1961.^[2][5] An extension of the Clearview south to Hillside Avenue (now NY 25) was opened to traffic in 1963.^[2][3] The Cross Bronx Expressway Extension and the Clearview Expressway were originally designated as part of I-78,^[6] which was to continue south from Hillside Avenue to NY 27 in Laurelton and west across Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan to the Holland Tunnel.^[5] Ultimately, none of I-78 between the Holland Tunnel and Hillside Avenue was built save for a short section near JFK Airport,^[7] resulting in the renumbering of all of I-78 north of Hillside Avenue to I-295 on January 1, 1970.^[4]

Exit list

County	Location	mi[1]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Queens	Cunningham Park	0.00	0.00	–	NY 25 (Hillside Avenue)	At-grade intersection
		0.17	0.27	1	Grand Central Parkway – RFK Bridge, Eastern Long Island	New York City's only stack interchange; exit 21 on Grand Central Parkway
		0.81	1.30	2	Union Turnpike	Formerly NY 25C
				3	73rd Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Fresh Meadows	1.70	2.74	4	I-495 (Long Island Expressway) – Manhattan, Eastern Long Island	Signed as 4E (east) and 4W (west); exit 27 on I-495
		2.70	4.35	5	NY 25A (Northern Boulevard)	Access to Flushing Hospital Medical Center
	Bayside			6A	35th Avenue	Signed as exit 6 northbound
				6B	26th Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		4.91	7.90	7	Willets Point Boulevard	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
				8	Cross Island Parkway south – Eastern Long Island, JFK Airport	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 33 on Cross Island Parkway
East River				Throgs Neck Bridge
Bronx	Locust Point			9	Harding Avenue / Pennyfield Avenue – Fort Schuyler
	Throggs Neck	7.68	12.36	10	I-695 north to I-95 north – New Haven, CT	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of I-695
				11	Randall Avenue
		9.79	15.76	12	I-278 west (Bruckner Expressway) – Manhattan	Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 54 on I-278; Bruckner Interchange
		9.79	15.76	–	I-95 south – George Washington Bridge, Newark, NJ	Bruckner Interchange; exit 6A on I-95
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access       Tolled

See also

• New York Roads portal

References

1. "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 208. 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. 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. New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Gulf Oil Company. 1960.
6. New York with Sight-Seeing Guide (Map) (1962 ed.). Cartography by General Drafting. Esso. 1962.
7. New York State Highways (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. State of New York Department of Commerce. 1969.

External links

Route map: Bing / Google

• Interstate 295 at Alps' Roads • New York Routes
• I-295 on Kurumi.com
• nycroads.com Clearview Expressway(I-295) info.
• I-295 (Greater New York Roads)