Union Turnpike is a thoroughfare stretching across part of Long Island in southern

New York state New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

, mostly within central and eastern

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It runs from

Myrtle Avenue Myrtle Avenue is a street that runs from Duffield Street in Downtown Brooklyn to Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill, Queens, in New York City, United States. Route description Queens Myrtle Avenue has been a major thoroughfare since the early ...

Glendale, Queens Glendale is a neighborhood in the west-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Forest Hills to the east, Ridgewood to the west, Woodhaven to the south, and Middle Village to the north. Glendale was built on a ...

, to Marcus Avenue in North New Hyde Park, Nassau County, about outside New York City border. The name memorializes the Union Racetrack, once a famous attraction for Queens residents. Union Turnpike from Myrtle Avenue to the Nassau County border is long. The turnpike crosses into Nassau County at the city's easternmost point on Langdale Street, two blocks past the city's highest-numbered street (271st Street). North of the turnpike at this point is

Glen Oaks A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrower ...

and south of it is

Floral Park Floral Park is an Administrative divisions of New York State#Village, incorporated village in Nassau County, New York, Nassau County, New York (state), New York, United States, on Long Island. The population as of the US Census of 2010 is 15,863. ...

, both sharing the same ZIP code (11004). It then enters the hamlet of North New Hyde Park.

Description

Starting from the intersection of

, 86th Street and the

Jackie Robinson Parkway The Jackie Robinson Parkway is a parkway in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. The western terminus of the parkway is at Jamaica Avenue in the Brooklyn neighborhood of East New York. It runs through Highland Park, along the ...

's east-bound exit 5 ramps in Glendale, Union Turnpike crosses

Woodhaven Boulevard Woodhaven Boulevard and Cross Bay Boulevard (formerly Jamaica Bay Boulevard) are two parts of a major boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. Woodhaven Boulevard runs roughly north–south in the central portion of Queens. South o ...

. It continues as the northern boundary of Forest Park to an intersection with

Metropolitan Avenue Metropolitan Avenue is a major east-west street in Queens and northern Brooklyn, New York City. Its western end is at the East River in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and the eastern end at Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The avenue was constructe ...

. Just east of here Union Turnpike crosses over the Jackie Robinson Parkway near Exit 6 (Metropolitan Avenue). Union Turnpike then straddles the parkway, but there is no access to or from the parkway to Union Turnpike. This section is in

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botanical and mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its living collections include some of the ...

. Soon, Union Turnpike and the parkway go under a long tunnel. On top is

Queens Boulevard Queens Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in the New York City borough of Queens connecting Midtown Manhattan, via the Queensboro Bridge, to Jamaica. It is long and forms part of New York State Route 25. Queens Boulevard runs northwest to s ...

( New York State Highway 25). There is a full diamond interchange with it from Union Turnpike, but no access from the parkway. Just after Queens Boulevard, the parkway ends at the

Kew Gardens Interchange The Kew Gardens Interchange is a complex junction in Kew Gardens, in the center of the New York City borough of Queens serving nearly 600,000 vehicles daily. Description The Kew Gardens Interchange is located roughly midway between LaGuardia A ...

, connecting with the Van Wyck Expressway (

Interstate 678 Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and ...

) and the Grand Central Parkway (Exits 7 and 8 on the Jackie Robinson, Exit 13 on the Grand Central, and Exit 10 on the Van Wyck. From Union Turnpike there is partial access to the Grand Central, and none to the Van Wyck). Union Turnpike eastbound goes on a bridge over the Grand Central Parkway to meet with Union Turnpike westbound on the other side at an intersection with the Grand Central Parkway's service roads just east of the intersection, and the road becomes a four-lane divided road. It continues through the neighborhoods within

Kew Gardens Hills Kew Gardens Hills is a neighborhood in the middle of the New York City borough of Queens. The borders are Flushing Meadows-Corona Park to the west, the Long Island Expressway to the north, Union Turnpike to the south, and Parsons Boulevard to t ...

, where it crosses Main Street and Parsons Boulevard before passing 164th Street in Hillcrest, the western sub-neighborhood of

Fresh Meadows Fresh Meadows is a neighborhood in the northeastern section of the New York City borough of Queens. Fresh Meadows used to be part of the broader town of Flushing and is bordered to the north by the Horace Harding Expressway; to the west by Po ...

. It then passes St. John's University, crossing Utopia Parkway, goes through

Utopia A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island societ ...

, and proceeds into the broader neighborhood of

when it crosses 188th Street and enters

Cunningham Park Cunningham Park is a park in the New York City borough of Queens. The park lies between the Grand Central Parkway to the south and the Long Island Expressway, and is bifurcated by the Clearview Expressway. The park is operated by the New York Ci ...

at an intersection with

Francis Lewis Boulevard Francis Lewis Boulevard is a boulevard in the New York City borough of Queens. The roadway is named for Francis Lewis, a Queens resident who was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. The boulevard zigzags across Queens by inc ...

. Just after Francis Lewis Boulevard is

Oakland Gardens Bayside is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Whitestone to the northwest, the Long Island Sound and Little Neck Bay to the northeast, Douglaston to the east, Oakland Gardens to the south, and Fresh Meadows ...

in the southern region of Bayside, where it shares a full diamond interchange with I-295, or the Clearview Expressway (Exit 2 on the Clearview). It then crosses Hollis Court Boulevard before leaving the park going into the north part of the district of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

. It passes through

Hollis Hills Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis, Queens, Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights, Queens, Cambria Heights to the ...

Queens Village Queens Village is a mostly residential middle class neighborhood in the eastern part of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bound by Hollis to the west, Cambria Heights to the south, Bellerose to the east, and Oakland Gardens to the north ...

, crossing Bell Boulevard and Springfield Boulevard. Just after Springfield Boulevard is a full interchange with the Grand Central Parkway (along the Grand Central, Exit 22 eastbound, and exit 23 westbound). After the Grand Central, Union Turnpike goes back into the neighborhood of Bayside, the eastern section of the Flushing district, where it becomes the southern boundary of Alley Pond Park until it intersects with Winchester Boulevard. It then passes the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, and then shares a full interchange with the Cross Island Parkway (Exit 28B on the Cross Island). Past here, Union Turnpike crosses Commonwealth Boulevard just after the Cross Island Parkway interchange before passing over Little Neck Parkway into Bellerose, then it passes through the neighborhood of

. It crosses the highest-numbered street in New York City, 271st Street, and then passes the city's easternmost point, at Langdale Street. Just past here, Union Turnpike enters Nassau County, where it intersects with Lakeville Road. It passes a shopping center in Lake Success, crosses New Hyde Park Road, and ends a block east at Marcus Avenue.

Character

With the exception of a section in Glendale, most of Union Turnpike consists of four traffic lanes divided by a narrow concrete median. The Glendale section contains a wide mall with trees, and in Kew Gardens, the turnpike flanks the

crossing over the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road, before dipping below

. Though it appears to be a service road for the parkway, it does not function as such. There is no direct access to the parkway, though there is partial access to the

Grand Central Parkway The Grand Central Parkway (GCP) is a 14.61-mile (23.51 km) long 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, ...

. This section has its own full diamond interchange with

Former route designation

The section of Union Turnpike between Queens Boulevard and Marcus Avenue was New York State Route 25C from the mid-1930s to 1970.

Transportation

Between Queens Boulevard in Kew Gardens and the city line, the Q46 bus line travels along Union Turnpike. The Union Turnpike express buses, comprising eight routes, also run along this section. The Q23 and QM12 terminate on Union Turnpike just east of

in Glendale. In addition, the New York City Subway's Kew Gardens–Union Turnpike station, served by the , is located at Queens Boulevard.

Points of interest

Among the landmarks found along the turnpike are Forest Park,

Queens Borough Hall Queens Borough Hall is a public building in the Kew Gardens neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City which houses the Office of the Queens Borough President and other city offices and court space. It is located in the Kew Gardens munic ...

, St. John's University, and

Creedmoor Psychiatric Center Creedmoor Psychiatric Center is a psychiatric hospital at 79-26 Winchester Boulevard in Queens Village, Queens, New York, United States. It provides inpatient, outpatient and residential services for severely mentally ill patients. The hospita ...

History

Union Turnpike was originally a dirt road, initially designed as a toll road. At the time, Union Turnpike traveled through relatively undeveloped areas, serving as a border between the towns of

Flushing Flushing may refer to: Places * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in the United Kingdom * Flushing, Queens, New York City ** Flushing Bay, a bay off the north shore of Queens ** Flushing Chinatown (法拉盛華埠), a community in Queens ** Flushin ...

and

. It started at Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills and ended at Utopia Parkway near

. Prior to the construction of

and Interboro Parkway (now the Jackie Robinson Parkway) in the 1930s, Union Turnpike was heavily used, and developed businesses throughout its length. In 1929, there was a proposal to make improvements to four existing roads in order to make them major thoroughfares between Queens and Nassau, namely Astoria Boulevard,

Northern Boulevard New York State Route 25A (NY 25A) is a state highway on Long Island in New York, United States. It serves as the main east–west route for most of the North Shore of Long Island, running for from Interstate 495 (I-495) at th ...

, Nassau Boulevard, and Union Turnpike. Civic associations in

opposed the Union Turnpike proposal, and they convinced Queens Borough President George Harvey.Harvey Scores Civic Groups
. ''The Standard Union'' (Brooklyn, New York). December 10, 1930. p. 7. Nevertheless, the section of Union Turnpike from

to the Nassau County line was converted from a narrow unpaved road to a paved multi-lane highway in the late 1930s, in advance of the 1939 New York World's Fair. Around the same time, the turnpike was depressed below Queens Boulevard in conjunction with the construction of the Queens Boulevard Subway, and extended eastward from Fresh Meadows towards Marcus Avenue in Nassau County. Prior to 1970, the section of Union Turnpike to the east of

was designated as

New York State Route 25C New York State Route 25C (NY 25C) was an east–west state highway on Long Island in New York in the United States. The route began in Queens at an intersection with NY 25 and paralleled NY 25B for just over before ending at ...

. Since then, only the section of Union Turnpike within Nassau County still carries this numerical designation.

Major intersections

References

External links

NY 25C; Union Turnpike (Greater New York Roads)
{{coord, 40, 43, 55.7, N, 73, 46, 4.7, W, display=title Streets in Queens, New York