Grand Central Parkway

Grand Central Parkway
Map of New York City with Grand Central Parkway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length	14.61 mi[1] (23.51 km)
Existed	1933[2]–present
Restrictions	No commercial vehicles east of exit 4
Major junctions
West end	I-278 in Astoria
Major intersections	I-278 in Astoria NY 25A / Whitestone Expressway in Corona I-495 in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park I-678 / Jackie Robinson Parkway in Kew Gardens Hills I-295 / NY 24 / NY 25 in Cunningham Park Cross Island Parkway in Glen Oaks
East end	Northern State Parkway in Lake Success
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Counties	Queens, Nassau
Highway system
New York Highways Interstate US State Reference Parkways

The Grand Central Parkway (GCP) is a 14.61-mile (23.51 km) controlled-access parkway that stretches from the 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 RFK Bridge to the BQE) also carries a short stretch of Interstate 278 (I-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 parkway is designated New York State Route 907M (NY 907M), an unsigned reference route. Despite its name, the Grand Central Parkway was not named after Grand Central Terminal.

The Grand Central Parkway has a few unique distinctions. It is only one of two parkways in New York State to carry an elliptical black-on-white design for its trailblazer, the other being the Henry Hudson Parkway, also in New York City. Other parkways in 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. In addition, it is one of the few parkways in the state to allow truck traffic to any extent. The section shared with I-278 allows for all trucks under 14 feet (4.3 m) high.

The Grand Central Parkway begins at the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge overlapped with I-278 in the Astoria section of Queens. After an interchange with 31st Street (I-278 exit 45); the parkway runs concurrently with I-278 for 0.80 mi (1.29 km) before the latter splits off onto the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway at exit 4, where all commercial traffic must exit.

The parkway proceeds east past St. Michaels Cemetery, entering exit 5, which serves 82nd Street and Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst, also connecting to the Marine Air Terminal and Terminal A of LaGuardia Airport. After crossing over 82nd Street and Ditmars Boulevard, the parkway enters the airport area, passing south of runway 4-22. During the reconstruction of the LaGuardia terminals, construction has been heavy in the vicinity of exits 6 and 7. As currently configured, eastbound exit 6 is an interchange with 94th Street while exit 7 forks northward on a ramp to the airport's terminals B, C and D. On the westbound side, exit 7 provides access to terminals C and D while exit 6 serves terminal B (in addition to 94th Street). After exit 7, the Grand Central bends southeast and away from LaGuardia Airport, paralleling the Long Island Sound into the eastbound only exit 8, which serves 111th Street.^[3]

Entering the Corona section of Queens, the Grand Central enters exit 9, which serves NY 25A (Northern Boulevard) and the Whitestone Expressway just west of Citi Field. The Grand Central then proceeds south, crossing under the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch and soon into Flushing Meadows-Corona Park. Through the park, the parkway passes west of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the Queens Zoo and the Unisphere before entering exit 10, a cloverleaf interchange with the Long Island Expressway (I-495). Soon crossing into Forest Hills, the parkway continues through Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, passing Meadow Lake, entering exit 11, connecting to 69th Road and Jewel Avenue in [in Forest Hills]. After that interchange, the parkway bends southeast through Forest Hills, passing Willow Lake and exit 12, which connects to NY 25 (Queens Boulevard) via 78th Avenue.^[3]

The Grand Central continues its bend, now proceeding eastward over Jamaica Yard, entering the Kew Gardens Interchange (exits 13, 14 and 15), connecting I-678 (the Van Wyck Expressway), Union Turnpike and the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Kew Gardens. After the Kew Gardens Interchange, the Grand Central Parkway continues east into the Briarwood section of Queens, where exit 16 connects to Parsons Boulevard via a service road. After crossing through the developed neighborhood of Briarwood, the parkway enters Jamaica Hills, passing south of Queens Hospital near 164th Street. Proceeding westbound, an exit (exit 17) is present, connecting to 168th Street, while eastbound, exit 18 connects the Grand Central to Utopia Parkway.^[3]

At the interchange with Utopia Parkway, the Grand Central passes south of St. John's University, soon winding northeast into exit 19, which serves 188th Street in Jamaica Estates. After exit 19, the parkway winds eastward into Cunningham Park, where it enters exit 20, which serves Francis Lewis Boulevard and exit 21, which connects to the Clearview Expressway (I-295) and its southern terminus. The parkway leaves Cunningham Park, entering the Bellerose section of Queens, entering exit 22, which connects to Union Turnpike via Stronghurst Avenue. The route then enters Alley Pond Park, where it interchanges with the Cross Island Parkway and Winchester Boulevard. After the interchange, the Grand Central passes west of Creedmoor Hospital, winding northeast into exit 24, which serves Little Neck Parkway before winding northeast to the Nassau County line in Little Neck. At this crossing, the parkway changes names to the Northern State Parkway, which continues east towards Hauppauge.^[3]

The Grand Central Parkway was first proposed in 1922, as a scenic drive along the high ground of east-central Queens.^[4] By the time construction began in 1931, it had been reconceived as extending northwestward to the Triborough Bridge, then in the planning stages, and connecting on the east with the Northern State Parkway, also in the planning stages, thereby among other things providing an easier route from the bridge to Jones Beach.^[4] The parkway was widened in 1961 in preparation for the 1964 New York World's Fair in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park.

In 2010 construction began at Kew Gardens Interchange to improve traffic congestion. Formerly, the frontage road of the Grand Central between BQE and the RFK Bridge served as a truck route, since large trucks were not permitted on the parkway. Exemptions were provided for smaller trucks that conform with strict regulations on the section of the Grand Central that overlapped with I-278.^[5] In December 2017, the state concluded a $2.5 million project that lowered the roadbed of the section of the parkway that is concurrent with I-278. This section of I-278 now has a 14-foot (4.3 m) vertical clearance, which allows most trucks to stay on I-278.^[6]

The entire route is in the New York City borough of Queens. 

Location	mi[1][7]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Astoria	0.00	0.00	–	I-278 east (RFK Bridge) – Manhattan, Bronx, Randalls Island	Continuation east; west end of I-278 overlap
			45	31st Street / Astoria Boulevard	No westbound access to Astoria Boulevard; exit no. corresponds to I-278
	0.80	1.29	4	I-278 west (Brooklyn–Queens Expressway) – Brooklyn, Staten Island	East end of I-278 overlap; eastbound exit and westbound entrance; all trucks must exit; exit number not signed
East Elmhurst	1.34	2.16		To I-278 west (Brooklyn–Queens Expressway) – Brooklyn, Staten Island	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	1.34	2.16	5	Astoria Boulevard / 82nd Street – Terminal A
	2.26	3.64	6	94th Street – Terminal B Parking	No westbound exit
	2.51	4.04	7	LaGuardia Airport – Terminals B and C
	3.55	5.71	8	111th Street	Eastbound exit only
Corona	3.79	6.10	9	NY 25A (Northern Boulevard) / Whitestone Expressway north to I-678	Signed as exits 9E (NY 25A east/Whitestone) and 9W (NY 25A west); no eastbound access to NY 25A west; exits 13B-C on I-678
Flushing Meadows–Corona Park	4.39	7.07	9P	Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, BJK Tennis Center	Access via Shea Road; no eastbound exit
	5.10	8.21	10	I-495 (Long Island Expressway) – Manhattan, Eastern Long Island	Signed as exits 10W (west) and 10E (east); exits 22A-B on I-495
	5.94	9.56	11	69th Road / Jewel Avenue	Signed as exits 11W (west) and 11E (east) westbound
	6.50	10.46	12	To NY 25 (Queens Boulevard) / 78th Avenue	Eastbound exit only
Kew Gardens Hills	7.19	11.57	13	I-678 south (Van Wyck Expressway) – Kennedy Airport	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; exit 10 on I-678
	7.53	12.12	14	Jackie Robinson Parkway west / Union Turnpike – Brooklyn	No westbound access to Union Turnpike; eastern terminus and exits 8W-E on Jackie Robinson Parkway
			15	Union Turnpike west to NY 25 west (Queens Boulevard)	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Briarwood	8.11	13.05	16	Parsons Boulevard / 164th Street	Eastbound exit only
Jamaica Hills–Hillcrest line	8.64	13.90	17	Parsons Boulevard / 168th Street to I-678 south (Van Wyck Expressway)	Westbound exit only
	9.13	14.69	18	Utopia Parkway	No westbound exit
Jamaica Estates–Holliswood line	9.83	15.82	19	188th Street
Cunningham Park	10.57– 10.86	17.01– 17.48	20	Francis Lewis Boulevard	Signed as exits 20A (north) and 20B (south)
	11.10	17.86	21	I-295 north (Clearview Expressway) / NY 24 east / NY 25 (Hillside Avenue) to I-495 – Bronx	NYC's only stack interchange; NY 24 not signed; exit 1 on I-295
Bellerose	11.93	19.20	22	Union Turnpike	No westbound exit
Glen Oaks	12.56	20.21	23	Cross Island Parkway / Union Turnpike / Winchester Boulevard to I-495	No eastbound access to Union Turnpike; no westbound access to Winchester Boulevard
Glen Oaks–Little Neck line	13.67	22.00	24	Little Neck Parkway
	14.61	23.51	–	Northern State Parkway east – Eastern Long Island	Continuation into Nassau County
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Grand Central Parkway.

• Grand Central Parkway at Alps' Roads
• Grand Central Parkway @ NYCROADS.com
• Grand Central Parkway (Greater New York Roads)
• Grand Central Parkway (Jeff's Parkway Site, Photo Gallery)