Interstate 278 (I-278) is an auxiliary Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York in the United States. The road runs from US Route 1/9 (US 1/9) in Linden, New Jersey, northeast to the Bruckner Interchange in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The majority of I-278 is in New York City, where it serves as a partial beltway and passes through all five of the city's boroughs. I-278 follows several freeways, including the Union Freeway in Union County, New Jersey; the Staten Island Expressway (SIE) across Staten Island; the Gowanus Expressway in southern Brooklyn; the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway (BQE) across Northern Brooklyn and Queens; a small part of the Grand Central Parkway in Queens; and a part of the Bruckner Expressway in the Bronx. I-278 also crosses multiple bridges, including the Goethals, Verrazzano–Narrows, Kosciuszko, and Robert F. Kennedy bridges.
I-278 was opened in pieces from the 1930s through the 1960s. Some of its completed segments predated the Interstate Highway System and are thus not up to standards, and portions of I-278 have been upgraded over the years. In New York, the various parts of I-278 were planned by Robert Moses, an urban planner in New York City. The segments proposed tore through many New York City neighborhoods, causing controversy. Despite its number, I-278 does not connect to I-78. There were once plans to extend I-278 west to I-78 east of the Route 24 interchange in Springfield, New Jersey. This was canceled because of opposition from the communities along the route. The segment that does exist in New Jersey was opened in 1969. There were also plans to extend I-78 east across Manhattan and into Brooklyn via the Williamsburg Bridge; this would have been a second interchange between I-278 and its parent highway, but these plans were also thwarted. I-78 was also planned to extend east beyond I-278 to John F. Kennedy International Airport, and then curve northward on the Clearview Expressway, ending at the Bruckner Interchange in the Bronx. If these plans were fully completed, I-78 and I-278 would have met at three interchanges.
Two segments of I-278 have had different route number designations formerly planned or designated for it. I-87 was once planned to follow the segment of I-278 between the Williamsburg Bridge and the Major Deegan Expressway, but this ultimately became a part of I-278. Additionally, the Bruckner Expressway portion of I-278 had been designated with different route numbers. At first, it was to be I-895 between I-87 and the Sheridan Expressway and I-678 past there. Later, I-278 was planned to follow the Bruckner Expressway and the Sheridan Expressway to I-95 (with no route number for the Bruckner Expressway past there) before the current numbering took place by 1970, with I-895 designated onto the Sheridan Expressway (which was subsequently downgraded to a state highway in 2017).
Route description
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New Jersey
The New Jersey segment of I-278 begins in Linden, Union County, at the junction with US 1 and US 9 (US 1/9), where it merges into the southbound direction of that road. The freeway heads east and carries two lanes in each direction, with the eastbound direction widening to three lanes. I-278 runs between urban residential areas to the north and Phillips 66's Bayway Refinery to the south as it continues into Elizabeth. In this area, the road meets Route 439 and the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) at the only intermediate interchange that I-278 has in New Jersey. This short length is sometimes called the Union Freeway. After this interchange, I-278 turns southeast and crosses the New Jersey Turnpike, Conrail Shared Assets Operations' (CSAO) Chemical Coast Secondary line, a Staten Island Railway freight line that is used by CSAO, industrial areas, CSAO's Bayway Industrial Track line, and finally Arthur Kill on the six-lane Goethals Bridge into Staten Island, a borough of New York City. This bridge is maintained by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ).
Staten Island Expressway
Upon coming onto Staten Island, I-278 becomes the SIE. After the Goethals Bridge, the highway passes under the Travis Branch railroad line that is owned by the Staten Island Railway and operated by CSAO and has a toll gantry serving the bridge. At this point, the freeway becomes eight lanes and maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), coming to an exit for Western and Forest avenues before reaching a directional interchange with the West Shore Expressway (New York State Route 440 (NY 440)). NY 440 forms a concurrency with I-278, and the road heads into residential neighborhoods. The road carries four lanes eastbound and three lanes westbound as it comes to the exit serving Richmond Avenue. Immediately after, NY 440 splits from the SIE at a large interchange, heading north on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway. This interchange also provides access to Victory Boulevard. East of this point, the expressway gains a bus lane in each direction. The six-lane I-278 turns to the east past this point, with Gannon Avenue South and Gannon Avenue North serving as frontage roads, and reaches the Bradley Avenue exit.
The next interchange the SIE is with Todt Hill Road and Slosson Avenue. This exchange was the original terminal of the bus lane in each direction that also serves as a high-occupancy vehicle lane (HOV lane) that was built in 2005. After Todt Hill Road and Slosson Avenue, I-278 runs through a wooded area where it comes to an incomplete interchange that was to be the northern terminus of the Richmond Parkway. The road continues back into residential areas and comes to an interchange serving Clove Road and Richmond Road. Past this, I-278 passes over the Staten Island Railway rapid transit line. The next interchange the freeway has is with Hylan Boulevard. A short distance later, the SIE comes to a large interchange that serves Lily Pond Avenue and Bay Street. Immediately after, I-278 reaches the former toll plaza for the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge, where electronic toll collection is in effect. I-278 goes onto the Verrazzano Bridge linking to Brooklyn over The Narrows. This bridge, which is maintained by the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), has six lanes on the lower level and seven lanes on the upper level which includes one HOV lane. In addition to local traffic on Staten Island, the expressway provides the most direct route from Brooklyn and Long Island to New Jersey. It is widely known throughout the New York City area as one of the most congested roads in the city.
Gowanus Expressway After the Verrazzano–Narrows Bridge, I-278 continues into Brooklyn on the Gowanus Expressway. Immediately after the bridge, the freeway comes to an eastbound exit and westbound entrance for the Belt Parkway. After this, a full interchange serves 92nd Street at which point I-278 becomes a single-level six-lane freeway. Soon after, one of the eastbound lanes becomes an HOV lane, continuing east to the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. restricted to buses, carpools, and vehicles with three or more occupants. On weekdays, this HOV lane carries eastbound traffic in the morning and westbound traffic in the afternoon. The lane is closed at other times, including certain New York City government holidays.
The Gowanus Expressway continues northeast into urban residential neighborhoods and reaches an eastbound interchange at Fort Hamilton Parkway and a westbound interchange at 86th Street. Turning more to the north, I-278 comes to a partial interchange at 65th Street, with an exit eastbound and entrance eastbound. The road curves northwest at this point and comes to a directional interchange providing access to 3rd Avenue and the Belt Parkway. The Gowanus Expressway turns northeast again at the interchange with Belt Parkway, and it continues along an elevated alignment above Third Avenue, running through urban residential and commercial areas. Along this viaduct, I-278 has interchanges with 38th Street/39th Street and the Prospect Expressway (NY 27).
After the interchange with the Prospect Expressway (NY 27), the freeway widens to eight lanes and heads north, coming to an interchange with the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel approach (officially the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, I-478), with the exit ramps splitting from the median of I-278. Westbound access to the tunnel is provided by the Hamilton Avenue exit. In this area, the freeway passes over the Gowanus Canal, an extremely polluted canal that was once used for shipping. The site has been designated a Superfund site by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Brooklyn–Queens Expressway
After the exit for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, I-278 heads north onto the six-lane BQE, passing through urban neighborhoods near Downtown Brooklyn on a depressed alignment. The next interchange the highway reaches serves Atlantic Avenue. After Atlantic Avenue, the road runs along the East River harbor in Downtown Brooklyn/Brooklyn Heights and is partially covered to create the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. , the roadway has been reduced to two lanes in each direction between Atlantic Avenue and the Brooklyn Bridge as part of efforts to extend the life of the roadway and meet modern safety standards for lane width and shoulders. I-278, at this point maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation, makes a sharp turn to the east away from the East River and comes to an interchange serving the Brooklyn Bridge and Cadman Plaza. The freeway continues on an elevated alignment and makes a turn southeast as it comes to ramps accessing the Manhattan Bridge. As of 2022, the city portion is planned to be rebuilt.
North of the bridges, the highway becomes state-maintained again and reaches at an exit serving Tillary Street and Flushing Avenue. At this point, the BQE continues east through residential areas and turns northeast upon coming to the Wythe Avenue/Kent Avenue exit. The road passes through the Williamsburg neighborhood on a depressed alignment, reaching an interchange that serves the Williamsburg Bridge, with an exit at Metropolitan Avenue a short distance later. I-278 becomes elevated again as it passes through more neighborhoods and comes to the interchange with Humboldt Street/McGuinness Boulevard. The BQE enters more industrial areas as it comes to the Meeker Avenue/Morgan Avenue exit.
I-278 crosses the Newtown Creek into Queens on the Kosciuszko Bridge. Upon entering Queens, the BQE runs north between residential neighborhoods to the east and Calvary Cemetery to the west before coming to an interchange with the LIE (I-495). After I-495, the freeway makes a turn to the east, passing over a residential street before crossing over New Calvary Cemetery. The road turns northeast through more urban neighborhoods and reaches an interchange at Queens Boulevard (NY 25). At this point, I-278 becomes city-maintained again and passes under the Long Island Rail Road's Main Line as it continues into a depressed alignment. The BQE turns north as it approaches the exit for Broadway and Roosevelt Avenue. I-278 heads back onto a viaduct and comes to a single-point urban interchange at Northern Boulevard (NY 25A). A short distance past Northern Boulevard (NY 25A), the freeway splits into east and west segments with four lanes each that respectively merge into the Grand Central Parkway east- and westbound. Astoria Boulevard is accessible from either leg. Both legs receive Interstate funding, though only the western leg is signed as part of I-278.
Grand Central Parkway and Robert F. Kennedy Bridge