The Clearview Interchange (also known as the Long Island Expressway / Clearview Expressway Interchange) is a highway interchange located in the Bayside neighborhood of the borough of Queens, in New York City.
| Clearview Interchange | |
|---|---|
 Approaching the Clearview Interchange from the northbound Clearview Expressway | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Bayside, Queens, New York | |
| Coordinates | 40°44′38.1″N 73°46′18.2″W / 40.743917°N 73.771722°W |
| Roads at junction | |
| Construction | |
| Type | Windmill interchange |
| Constructed | January 1959 – August 1960 |
| Opened | August 12, 1960 |
| Reconstructed | 2001–2003 |
| Maintained by | NYSDOT |
Description
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The interchange is a windmill interchange, connecting two major, controlled-access expressways: the Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495) and the Clearview Expressway (Interstate 295) – the latter highway being the interchange's namesake.[1] The frontage roads for the Long Island Expressway curve around the interchange, in order to accommodate its ramps.[2] The Long Island Expressway and its frontage roads travel above the Clearview Expressway, while the ramps connecting the two expressways travel above both the Long Island Expressway and its frontage roads.[2]
Additionally, the Clearview Interchange forms the northern border of Cunningham Park.[1][2][3][4]
History
editThe Clearview Interchange was planned by Robert Moses when he planned the construction of the two highways through the area back in the 1950s.[1][4] Construction on the interchange commenced in January 1959, and it opened on the afternoon of August 12, 1960.[5][6][7][8] With the opening of the Clearview Interchange and the associated 0.9-mile (1.4 km) segment of the Long Island Expressway between Peck Avenue and 224th Street built as part of the project, the entirety of the Long Island Expressway within New York City was completed – along with the initial Interstate 495 designation for the highway (first designated in October 1958); the opening of the Long Island Expressway portion of the interchange closed a temporary, brief highway gap between the completed segments in Queens.[5][6][8][9]
While the Long Island Expressway portions of the interchange had been officially opened and placed into service in 1960, the rest of the interchange would open shortly thereafter, upon the opening of the Clearview Expressway (then designated as a segment of Interstate 78) between the interchange and the Throgs Neck Bridge.[4][7]
Upon opening the Clearview Interchange served as the eastern terminus of Interstate 495 – all portions of the expressway east of the interchange was designated as New York State Route 24, and then as New York State Route 495; the route east to Riverhead retained this designation until 1985, when the Interstate 495 designation was extended east to Riverhead.[9][10][11][12]
The interchange was renovated in the 2000s.[13][14] The $30 million project (equivalent to $49.7 million in 2023), known as the Long Island Expressway / Clearview Expressway Interchange Improvement Project, commenced in May 2001 and was completed on August 31, 2003.[14]
See also
edit- Bruckner Interchange, another interchange serving Interstate 295, located at the Interstate's northern end in The Bronx
- Kew Gardens Interchange, another interchange in Queens
References
edit- ^ a b c "Compact NYSDOT Highway Record Plans: Beginning 1900". New York State Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c "Clearview Interchange" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ "Clearview's Tail Park". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ a b c Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (January 4, 1957). "The Facts About The Clearview Expressway" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. p. 7. Retrieved February 28, 2017 – via Fultonhistory.com.
- ^ a b "18-Month Bottleneck Is Ended On L.L. Expressway at Clearview". The New York Times. August 13, 1960. Archived from the original on June 21, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2018.
- ^ a b "L. I. Expressway To Be Formally Opened". New York Herald Tribune. August 9, 1960. p. 3. ISSN 1941-0646. ProQuest 1325619619.
- ^ a b "L.I. Highway Link Will Open Friday: Clearview Interchange Will End Long Traffic-Snarling Detour in Queens". The New York Times. August 9, 1960. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ a b Wood, Francis (August 13, 1960). "Expwy Detour Gone, Drivers' Anguish, Too". Newsday. p. 7 – via ProQuest.
- ^ a b Anderson, Steve. "Long Island Expressway". NYCRoads. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010. Retrieved March 18, 2010.[self-published source]
- ^ Rand McNally and Company (1960). New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map (Map). Gulf Oil Company.
- ^ H.M. Gousha Company (1961). New York and Metropolitan New York (Map) (1961–62 ed.). Sunoco.
- ^ General Drafting (1962). New York with Sight-Seeing Guide (Map) (1962 ed.). Esso.
- ^ Boniello, Kathianne (January 17, 2002). "Clearview/LIE interchange construction moves ahead". QNS.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
- ^ a b "Project Overview: Long Island Expressway/Clearview Expressway Interchange Improvement Project". New York State Department of Transportation. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
External links
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Media related to Clearview Interchange at Wikimedia Commons
