Cross Island Parkway - Route Description

Route Description

The Cross Island Parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt Parkway and the Southern State Parkway in the Cambria Heights section of Queens. A short distance after exit 25B, which serves Linden Boulevard, forks off the Cross Island. The parkway runs northward along the Queens-Nassau county line upon leaving the interchange, running between Cambria Heights in Queens and Nassau's town of Hempstead as it enters Belmont Park. In Belmont Park, the Cross Island enters exit 26A, the first of two gated-entrance exit ramps for Belmont Park parking lots. After crossing under Belmont Park Road, the parkway enters exit 26B, a partial cloverleaf interchange which serves NY 24 (Hempstead Turnpike). Paralleling the race track, the Cross Island Parkway continues north, passing west of Belmont Park's Long Island Rail Road station, where southbound exit 26C forks to NY 24.

After a final entrance ramp to Belmont Park, exit 26D, the Cross Island Parkway crosses under the Long Island Rail Road main line then Superior Road before crossing into Nassau County and the town of Hempstead. After the crossing, the parkway enters exit 27, a cloverleaf interchange with NY 25 (Braddock Avenue) and Jamaica Avenue before crossing back into Queens. A short distance later, the parkway enters exit 28A, serving NY 25B (Hillside Avenue) via a diamond interchange and exit 28B for Union Turnpike via a collector-distributor road. Now proceeding northwest, the Cross Island crosses under Union Turnpike and enters exit 29, a trumpet interchange with the Grand Central Parkway.

After crossing under the multitude of lanes that make up the interchange and the Grand Central Parkway, the Cross Island Parkway crosses under Douglaston Parkway and enter Alley Pond Park. The Cross Island parallels the Douglaston Parkway northwest for a stretch, entering exit 30, a trumpet interchange with the Long Island Expressway (I-495) in Alley Pond Park. The parkway parallels Alley Creek as it bends further to the northwest, entering exit 31, a partial cloverleaf interchange with NY 25A (Northern Boulevard) and the Alley Pond Environmental Center. Past the junction, the highway continues on a northwestward track as it passes under the Port Washington Branch of the Long Island Rail Road and begins to run along the western edge of Little Neck Bay.

After a pedestrian crossover, the parkway passes a parking lot for Bayside Marina, accessible only via the parkway's northbound lanes. The Cross Island Parkway soon leaves the side of Little Neck Bay and passes south of Fort Totten Military Reservation. While south of Fort Totten, the parkway enters exit 32, a diamond interchange with Bell Boulevard. A short distance later, the parkway enters another diamond interchange, exit 33, this time for the Clearview Expressway (I-295) and the Throgs Neck Bridge. The northbound lanes also boast a ramp for Utopia Parkway (signed as exit 34). After crossing under Utopia Parkway, the Cross Island enters the Whitestone section of Queens, where southbound, an exit 34 serves 160th Street and Utopia Parkway.

Continuing east, the Cross Island Parkway crosses through Whitestone, crossing under Clintonville Street, 150th-149th Streets and 14th Avenue before entering exit 35 southbound, serving 14th Avenue and Francis Lewis Boulevard. After crossing under 147th Street, the parkway enters exit 36, a partial diamond interchange with the Whitestone Expressway (I-678), which proceeds north to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge and southbound towards John F. Kennedy International Airport. This interchange also serves as the northern terminus of the Cross Island Parkway.

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