Interstate 495 (New York)

Interstate 495, often called I-495, is a major highway in southeastern New York state. It is maintained by several groups, including the New York State Department of Transportation, the New York City Department of Transportation, MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. To the east of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel, the highway is known as the Long Island Expressway.

The highway stretches for about 66 miles, running from the western end of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel in Manhattan to County Route 58 in Riverhead on Long Island. Along the way, it connects with several other important roads, such as I-295 in Bayside, Queens, which links it to I-95.

Although many people call the whole stretch east of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel the Long Island Expressway, this name really only applies to the parts in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The part from the tunnel to Queens Boulevard is called the Queens Midtown Expressway, and the section between Queens Boulevard and the Queens–Nassau county line is known as the Horace Harding Expressway. The roads that run alongside the highway in Queens have their own names too.

Route description

New York City

The highway starts at the western end of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel in the Murray Hill area of Manhattan. It moves eastward, passing under FDR Drive and the East River as it goes through the tunnel to Queens. Once on Long Island, the road passes through where the tunnel's old toll area was and becomes the Queens–Midtown Expressway as it travels through the western part of the borough. About a mile after entering Queens, I-495 meets I-278 (Brooklyn–Queens Expressway) at exit 17, then briefly becomes a two-level, 12-lane road going across Calvary Cemetery. It merges back into one level at Maurice Avenue and continues through neighborhoods like Maspeth, Elmhurst, and Rego Park. East of NY 25 (Queens Boulevard) in Rego Park, I-495 becomes the Horace Harding Expressway. It heads northeast through Corona to Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, meeting both the Grand Central Parkway and the Van Wyck Expressway (I-678) inside the park. Because the exits in this area are close together, the highway uses two sets of special roads to help with traffic: one between 69th and 99th streets and another between the Grand Central Parkway and I-678.

The expressway continues east as a six-lane road, turning southeast to go around Kissena Park before turning back northeast to meet the Clearview Expressway (I-295) at the north edge of Cunningham Park. After I-295, I-495 passes by the "Queens Giant", the oldest and tallest tree in the New York metropolitan area. The tree is just north of I-495 in Alley Pond Park and can be seen from the highway's westbound lanes. Further east, the road connects to the Cross Island Parkway at exit 31 in the park before leaving the park. The highway has one last exit, Exit 32 for Little Neck Parkway, before leaving New York City and entering Nassau County, becoming the LIE.

Although the LIE name officially starts outside the New York City border, almost all locals and most signs use "the Long Island Expressway" or "the LIE" to refer to the entire length of I-495. The roads next to I-495 are called Borden Avenue and Queens Midtown Expressway between I-278 and Queens Boulevard, and they are known as Horace Harding Expressway between Queens Boulevard and the Nassau County line. The Horace Harding Expressway section follows the path of Horace Harding Boulevard (also once called Nassau Boulevard), named for J. Horace Harding (1863–1929), a finance leader who helped develop Long Island's roads and supported Robert Moses's "great parkway plan". Harding also pushed for building a road from Queens Boulevard to the Nassau County Line to help people get to Oakland Country Club, where he was a member. After he died, the boulevard he helped build was named after him. Horace Harding was not related to the former President Warren G. Harding.

Nassau and Suffolk counties

Moving into Nassau County, the expressway has a special lane for cars with more people (HOV lane) in each direction, starting at exit 33 and going to central Suffolk County. I-495 and the nearby Northern State Parkway, which runs close to the LIE through the county, meet three times, although they only cross once near exit 46 close to the county line in Plainview. I-495 connects to the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway (NY 135). In Suffolk County, the LIE keeps its eight-lane setup with the HOV lane until exit 64 (NY 112). At this point, the HOV lane ends and the highway narrows to six lanes; also, the concrete barrier in the middle changes to a wide, grassy area, the road surface changes from asphalt to concrete, and the highway no longer has streetlights, showing that it is now in a more rural part of Long Island.

From NY 112 east, the expressway goes through more rural, wooded areas on its way to Riverhead. At exit 66 (County Route 101), the roads next to the highway break up and fully end at exit 68 (William Floyd Parkway). Exit 70 (CR 111) in Manorville is the last full exit, as it is the last one that lets eastbound traffic join, and the first to let westbound traffic leave. After exit 71 (NY 24/Nugent Drive), the expressway starts to get narrower as it approaches its eastern end. Until 2008, just before exit 72 (NY 25), the three eastbound lanes narrowed to two, which then narrowed almost right away to a single lane at exit 73, which is 800 feet (240 m) east of exit 72. As of 2008^[update], of the two lanes, one lane is for exit 72 and the other is for exit 73, ending the squeeze into a single lane that used to exist at exit 73. At exit 73, all traffic on the expressway is sent onto a ramp leading to eastbound CR 58, marking the end of the road.

HOV restrictions

There is one HOV lane in each direction, in the middle of the highway, between exit 32 (Little Neck Parkway), near the Queens–Nassau border, to exit 64 (NY 112), in central Suffolk County. From 6:00 am to 10:00 am and from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm Monday through Friday, the HOV lanes are only for buses, motorcycles, and cars with at least two people. Trailers and commercial trucks are always not allowed in these lanes. Vehicles can only get on and off the lanes at special places.

Originally, the HOV lanes were only for cars with at least two people. In 2006, drivers of certain hybrid cars were allowed to use the lanes even if driving alone under the Clean Pass Program. However, this rule was removed in 2025 after the Program ended. By 2014, more than one-third of all traffic on the LIE between exits 32 and 64 used the HOV lane during busy times. NYSDOT thought about making the lanes for cars with at least three people but decided not to change it.

History

I-495 was built in stages from 1940 to 1972 to help reduce traffic on local roads in Long Island. Most of the highway in Queens was constructed as part of the Interstate Highway System, with most of the funding coming from the federal government. The part of the highway in Nassau and Suffolk counties had equal funding from both the federal and state governments.

Construction of Queens segment

Queens–Midtown Expressway

The first part of what is now I-495, the Queens–Midtown Tunnel linking Manhattan and Queens, opened to traffic on November 15, 1940. The highway connecting the tunnel to Laurel Hill Boulevard was built around the same time and was named the "Midtown Highway". In the 1940s, city planner Robert Moses proposed building a system of highways across the New York City area. Plans for the Queens Midtown Expressway were approved in 1945, but construction did not start until 1951. The first section of the highway opened in 1955, and the entire section from Laurel Hill Boulevard to Queens Boulevard opened later that year.

Horace Harding Expressway

The Long Island Expressway was built over much of Horace Harding Boulevard in eastern Queens and Power House Road in western Nassau County. Construction began in 1955 but faced delays due to weather, strikes, and difficulties in building across existing roads and swampy land. Sections of the highway opened between 1957 and 1959. The section west of the Clearview Expressway became I-495 in 1958. The windmill interchange with the Clearview Expressway was the last section in New York City to be completed in 1960.

Extension to Long Island

Plans for a 90-mile highway extending east to Riverhead in Suffolk County were first reported in 1953. Construction progressed in stages, with sections opening between 1958 and 1972. By 1962, the highway had reached its peak capacity, carrying between 125,000 and 150,000 vehicles per day. The entire highway was designated as I-495 in 1984.

Modifications

Officials had predicted that the LIE would carry 80,000 vehicles per day by 1970, but due to increased demand, the highway was often congested. Plans to add reversible lanes and other solutions were considered but not implemented. By the 1970s, the highway was frequently carrying over 150,000 vehicles a day. In the 1980s and 1990s, additional lanes were added east of the Cross Island Parkway, and HOV lanes were constructed in sections. These lanes became popular and were heavily used.

Additional lanes in Queens

Congestion at the interchange with I-278 led to plans for reconstruction and additional lanes. In 1968, plans were announced to add two additional local lanes beside the existing three lanes in each direction. These plans were postponed in 1974 but revived in the late 1970s using federal funds. The state allocated funds to improve medians and widen shoulders on I-495 in Queens. By the 1980s, the stretch between I-278 and the Grand Central Parkway was frequently at capacity, leading to proposals for improvements.

Lighting and the HOV lanes

Initially, I-495 lacked street lights in Nassau and Suffolk counties. In 1980, the first streetlights were installed in eastern Nassau County, with plans to add more along a 15-mile stretch. Construction of HOV lanes east of the Cross Island Parkway began in the early 1990s and were completed in 2005. These lanes cost $880 million and ran from exit 32 in eastern Queens to exit 64 at Medford in Suffolk County.

Late 1990s to present

Renovation of I-495 between exit 15 and exit 22 began in 1998, costing $200 million. Projects to rebuild sections near Alley Pond Park and the Cross Island Parkway were completed by 2005. In 2004, proposals to reconfigure exit 22 with I-678 and the Grand Central Parkway were examined. The interchange with Grand Central Parkway was rebuilt from 2015 to 2018.

Service roads and the proposed interchange

As I-495 was built across Long Island, it was designed to accommodate certain conditions and proposed interchanges. Various exits had specific designs and intended connections, though some proposals were canceled or altered over time.

Unbuilt expansions

Extensions of the expressway

Across Manhattan

There were plans to extend I-495 across Manhattan to the Lincoln Tunnel and into New Jersey. This would have connected to the New Jersey Turnpike in Secaucus. However, these plans were canceled, and the extension was officially removed from I-495 in 1970. The part in New Jersey became Route 495 in 1979.

The idea for this extension was first suggested in 1936. It would have crossed Midtown Manhattan near 34th Street. Early ideas included tunnels, but later plans suggested a raised highway along 30th Street. This would have required removing many buildings. There were also ideas to build the highway high above the city, allowing buildings to be built around it. One unusual plan even suggested running the highway through the Empire State Building. In 1963, the plans were finalized, but they were never built. In 1971, New York’s governor canceled the plans along with several other highway projects.

Across Suffolk County

There were efforts to extend I-495 further east on Long Island. This extension happened in the early 1980s, and the older signs for NY 495 were removed. There were also ideas to build a bridge across Long Island Sound to Connecticut and Rhode Island, but these plans were stopped because of lack of money and people not wanting it.

Subway line

There were also ideas to build a subway line along the same path as the highway. This was first suggested in the 1930s and again in 1968. The subway would have gone from Queens College to Fresh Meadows and Bayside. However, people living nearby did not like the idea because it would have meant widening the highway and tearing down homes. In 1973, the plans were canceled after people voted against a money plan to pay for it. This was the second time voters had said no to paying for this subway line.

Exit list

Mid-Manhattan Expressway (canceled)

If built, the MME would have had the following exits: