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'Interstate 278' (abbreviated 'I-278') is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. Despite its number, it does not connect to I-78, though a western extension was planned to I-78 east of the Route 24 interchange. The majority of I-278 is in New York City, serving local traffic; it passes through all five boroughs (though through Manhattan only because the Triborough Bridge crosses Wards Island, which is technically part of Manhattan). The portion that goes through New Jersey is sometimes called the ''Union Freeway.''
Like most Interstates, I-278 is mainly owned by the state, but the New York City Department of Transportation owns two older sections, near downtown Brooklyn and north of Queens Boulevard. [1]

Contents

Length

Description (from west to east)

Legal Definition

Exit list

New Jersey

New York

Sources

External links

Length

★ New Jersey: 2.00 miles (3.2 km)

★ New York: 33.62 miles (54.1 km)

Description (from west to east)

The short New Jersey segment begins in Linden at the junction with U.S. Route 1/9 and goes east into Elizabeth to its other New Jersey interchange, with Route 439 (the original Goethals Bridge approach) and the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95). It crosses the Arthur Kill on the 4-lane Goethals Bridge to Staten Island, a borough of New York City.
After crossing into New York, I-278 uses the following named highways:

★ Staten Island Expressway (Staten Island)

★ Verrazano Narrows Bridge (Staten Island-Brooklyn)

★ Gowanus Expressway (Brooklyn)

★ Brooklyn-Queens Expressway including the Kosciusko Bridge (Brooklyn-Queens)

★ Grand Central Parkway - westernmost section (Queens). Commercial Traffic is now allowed on this part of I-278.

★ Triborough Bridge north and south legs (Queens-Manhattan-Bronx)

★ Bruckner Expressway (Bronx)

★ formerly the Sheridan Expressway (Bronx), instead of the northeastern most part of the Bruckner
I-278's eastern terminus is the Bruckner Interchange. Here, I-95 continues the Bruckner Expressway towards the New England Thruway. Due to the relative age of I-278 (most of the highways that make up I-278 predate the highway), the majority of I-278 has a 45 m.p.h. speed restriction, with the exception of the Staten Island Expressway, which has a 50 m.p.h. speed limit.

Legal Definition

The New York section of I-278 is defined as part of Interstate Route Connector 512 and all of Interstate Route Connector 518 in New York Highway Law § 340-a.

Exit list

Number		Mile	Municipality	Destinations	Notes
	Old
New Jersey
		0.00	Linden	U.S. Route 1 south/U.S. Route 9 south	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
(1)		1.01	Elizabeth	Route 439 to U.S. Route 1 north/U.S. Route 9 north - Bayway Avenue
(2)		1.20	Elizabeth	New Jersey Turnpike/Interstate 95
New York
			Staten Island	Goethals Bridge toll plaza (eastbound only)
3				Western Avenue	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
4				Forest Avenue	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
5		1.83		Route 440 south - West Shore Expressway/Outerbridge Crossing	Route 440 joins eastbound and leaves westbound
6				South Avenue	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
7		2.04		Richmond Avenue
8		2.74		Victory Boulevard	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
9		2.93		Route 440 north/Dr. M. L. King Jr. Expressway - Bayonne Bridge	Route 440 joins westbound and leaves eastbound
10				Victory Boulevard	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
11				Bradley Avenue
12		4.78		Todt Hill Road/Slosson Avenue
13		5.73		Clove Road/Richmond Road/Hylan Boulevard
14				Narrows Road west/Hylan Boulevard	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
15		7.58		Lily Pond Avenue - South Beach/Bay Street	split into 15S and 15N westbound
				Verrazano Narrows Bridge toll plaza (westbound only)
			Brooklyn	Belt Parkway east - Kennedy Airport	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
17				92nd Street - Bay Ridge
18		10.47		Fort Hamilton Parkway	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
19				86th Street	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
20		11.18		7th Avenue/65th Street/6th Avenue
21		11.93		3rd Avenue	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
				Belt Parkway	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
23				38th Street/39th Street	eastbound exit and westbound exit
24		14.29		New York State Route 27 east - Prospect Expressway
25	26A			Battery Tunnel - Manhattan (Interstate 478)	no westbound exit
26	26B	15.14		Hamilton Avenue - Battery Tunnel/Manhattan
27		16.12		Atlantic Avenue
28				Cadman Plaza West - Brooklyn Bridge	westbound entrance
28A				Cadman Plaza West - Brooklyn Bridge	eastbound entrance
28B		17.20		Brooklyn Bridge	eastbound exit only
29				Tillary Street - Manhattan Bridge/Brooklyn Civic Center	westbound entrance
29A		17.47		Manhattan Bridge	eastbound exit only
29B				Tillary Street - Manhattan Bridge/Brooklyn Civic Center	eastbound entrance
30		18.68		Flushing Avenue	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
31				Wythe Avenue/Kent Avenue	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
32B				Metropolitan Avenue to Williamsburg Bridge - Manhattan	eastbound exit
32A		19.85		Williamsburg Bridge - Manhattan	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
32B				Metropolitan Avenue	westbound exit
33		20.60		Mc Guinness Boulevard/Humboldt Street	eastbound exit only
34				Meeker Avenue/Morgan Avenue	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
35		22.02	Queens	Interstate 495/Long Island Expressway - Midtown Tunnel/Eastern Long Island/48th Street/Greenpoint Avenue
36				Route 25/Queens Boulevard - 65th Place	eastbound entrance
36A				Route 25 east/Queens Boulevard - 58th Street	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
39B	36B			Route 25/Queens Boulevard - 65th Place	westbound entrance and eastbound exit
40	37	23.87		Roosevelt Avenue/Broadway
41	38	24.48		Route 25A/Northern Boulevard
42	39	24.66		Grand Central Parkway east - La Guardia Airport/Astoria Boulevard east	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
43	40			30th Avenue	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
44	41	25.57		Astoria Boulevard west	eastbound exit and westbound entrance
44	4			Grand Central Parkway east - La Guardia Airport	westbound exit and eastbound entrance; Grand Central Parkway joins eastbound and leaves westbound. ''Large trucks are allowed from here to the Triborough Bridge.''
45	3	26.37		31st Street	On the Grand Central Parkway, former Exit 3 (Hoyt Avenue) has been replaced with Exit 45 (31st Street.)
		28.18	Manhattan	Manhattan/FDR Drive/Randalls Island/Wards Island	Triborough Bridge toll plaza between the exit and entrance ramps (both directions)
47	44	28.89	Bronx	Interstate 87 north/Major Deegan Expressway - Albany
48	45			East 138th Street
49	46	30.78		Interstate 895 north/Sheridan Expressway - East 177th Street	eastbound exit and westbound entrance. ''Use this to reach Interstate 95 south.''
				Bronx River Avenue - Hunts Point Market/Hunts Point Avenue	westbound exit and eastbound entrance
51		31.58		Bronx River Parkway north	no westbound exit
		32.25		White Plains Road/Castle Hill Avenue
		33.62		Interstate 295 south/Interstate 678 south/Hutchinson River Parkway - Throgs Neck Bridge/Whitestone Bridge/Zerega Avenue	Bruckner Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		33.62		Interstate 95 north/Bruckner Expressway - New Haven

Sources

★ NJDOT Straight Line Diagrams

★ 1968 Millburn map, showing the planned western end

★ 1967 NJDOT Union County map: Sheet 1 and Sheet 2 (I-278 also appears in sheets 3 through 7)

External links

★ Union Freeway @ NYCROADS.com

★ Staten Island Expressway @ NYCROADS.com

★ Gowanus Expressway @ NYCROADS.com

★ BQE @ NYCROADS.com

★ Bruckner Expressway @ NYCROADS.com