New York State Route 25
New York State Route 25 is an east–west state highway in downstate New York in the United States. The route extends along the central parts and North Shore of Long Island for just over from east midtown Manhattan in New York City to the Cross Sound Ferry terminal at Orient Point on the end of Long Island's North Fork. NY 25 is carried from Manhattan to Queens by way of the double-decked Queensboro Bridge over the East River.
NY 25 is unique among New York State Routes on Long Island, as it is the only one to leave the geographical boundaries of Long Island, albeit minimally; it ends at the western terminus of the Queensboro Bridge. It is also one of only two signed New York State routes in Manhattan. Additionally, NY 25 is the second-longest highway on Long Island after its South Shore counterpart: NY 27.
NY 25 runs along several differently-named roads. In the borough of Queens, it is called Queens Boulevard, Hillside Avenue and finally Braddock Avenue. Braddock Avenue ends immediately upon crossing over the Cross Island Parkway. At that point, NY 25 turns east onto Jericho Turnpike, which runs along the Queens-Nassau border from Braddock Avenue to 257th Street. Continuing east through Nassau and western Suffolk counties, NY 25 retains the name Jericho Turnpike. Further east, the highway becomes Main Street in Smithtown, Middle Country Road in central Suffolk, Main Street again in Riverhead, and finally Main Road in eastern Suffolk.
Two alternate routings exist bearing the designation NY 25 Truck, both along the North Fork. They began as two separate routes, one between Laurel and Mattituck and the other in the vicinity of Greenport; however, they were effectively merged after a truck route was established between Mattituck and Greenport.
Route description
Manhattan and Queens
NY 25 begins near Second Avenue in Manhattan, at the western end of the double-decked Queensboro Bridge spanning the East River and Roosevelt Island. East of the bridge, NY 25 becomes Queens Boulevard at the intersection with NY 25A, in the Long Island City section of the borough of Queens. Queens Plaza is based around this section of the road.In Long Island City, NY 25 runs southeast beneath the elevated tracks of the IRT Flushing Line. At Thompson Avenue, the route turns to run eastward as the multi-lane divided Queens Boulevard, straddling the Flushing Line's elevated structure eastward to 48th Street, at which point the Flushing Line turns northeast onto Roosevelt Avenue and Queens Boulevard becomes 6 lanes in each direction, with main and service roads. In Woodside, NY 25 meets I-278 at exit 39. In Elmhurst, the road runs over the eponymous subway line starting at the intersection with Grand Avenue and Broadway. In Corona, the road intersects the Long Island Expressway and the northern terminus of Woodhaven Boulevard.
Outside of Rego Park, NY 25 turns slightly southeast towards Forest Hills and Jamaica. In Kew Gardens the route is connected to the westbound and eastbound roadways of Union Turnpike and passes over the Jackie Robinson Parkway without access. Near Jamaica, the road meets I-678 at exit 9, a partial interchange. Three blocks southeast of I-678, NY 25 turns east and is known as Hillside Avenue, a city street that begins at Jamaica Avenue in Richmond Hill near the site of the closed LIRR station. This section of NY 25 is undivided but has several lanes in the Jamaica-Hollis area. In Queens Village the route connects with both I-295 and NY 24 at an interchange that serves as NY 24's western end and I-295's southern terminus. East of I-295, NY 25 intersects the western terminus of NY 25B; NY 25 turns southeast onto Braddock Avenue while Hillside Avenue continues east as Route 25B.
In Bellerose, the roadway passes over the Cross Island Parkway and turns east onto Jericho Turnpike. This section, to just before 257th Street, is the border between the Bellerose and Floral Park neighborhoods of Queens to the north and the villages of Bellerose and Floral Park in Nassau County to the south. The westbound lanes are in New York City, whereas the eastbound lanes are in Nassau County.
Nassau and Suffolk counties
NY 25B and Hillside Avenue merge into NY 25 in Mineola. NY 25 continues in this area as a divided highway and parallels the Northern State Parkway. NY 25 again intersects with the Long Island Expressway in Jericho. NY 106 and NY 107 interchange with NY 25 in downtown Jericho, however the exit is not numbered.The northern end of the Seaford–Oyster Bay Expressway terminates at NY 25 in Syosset. NY 110 intersects at the mark, in South Huntington. NY 454 begins at an intersection with NY 25 in Commack. Just after the NY 454 intersection, NY 25 meets the Sunken Meadow State Parkway by way of an interchange. NY 25A, a spur of NY 25, becomes concurrent with NY 25 in Smithtown. In Village of the Branch, NY 25A leaves to the north where NY 111 intersects from the south. New York State Bicycle Route 25 also begins along NY 25A at this intersection.
NY 347 intersects at in Nesconset. In Coram, NY 25 intersects with NY 112. NY 25A ends at NY 25 in Calverton, and NYS Bike Route 25 joins NY 25 on its way to Orient Point, with occasional diversions in Riverhead, Aquebogue, and Greenport. later, NY 25 encounters the Long Island Expressway one final time at another interchange. further eastward, in Greenport, NY 25 intersects with NY 114 at its northern terminus. NY 25 continues on the northeastern end of Long Island for the final. NY 25 enters Orient and ends at the Orient Point Ferry Landing. An attraction along NY 25 in Orient is Orient Beach State Park.
History
NY 25 was assigned in the 1924 along all of what is now NY 25A east of the New York City line and its current alignment from the modern east end of NY 25A to Greenport. At the time, the section of modern NY 25 between the New York City line and Smithtown was state-maintained but unnumbered. It was designated as NY 25A.In 1929, NY 25 was realigned to follow Jericho Turnpike and Middle Country Road between Smithtown and Riverhead while its former alignment to the north became part of NY 25A.
In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, the routings of NY 25 and NY 25A were flipped west of Smithtown, placing both routes on their current alignments. NY 25 was extended east to Orient Point.
NY 25 was one of several routes that was extended west into New York City in mid-December 1934 when the city signed routes within its limits for the first time. The route followed Jericho Turnpike, Braddock Avenue, Springfield Boulevard, Horace Harding Boulevard, and several smaller streets westward to Queens Boulevard, then part of NY 24. NY 25 joined NY 24 here, overlapping NY 24 along Queens Boulevard and across the Queensboro Bridge into Manhattan. The three routes continued west for several more blocks along 2nd Avenue and 57th Street to Park Avenue, where NY 24, NY 25, and NY 25A all ended. At the time, the segment of modern NY 25 between Skillman Avenue and 212th Street was part of NY 24.
In 1938, NY 25 was realigned to follow Queens Boulevard from Skillman Avenue to Horace Harding Boulevard, where NY 25 turned eastward to follow Horace Harding Boulevard back to its original alignment at Corona Avenue.
The route was altered in 1940 to follow an even more southerly alignment between Horace Harding and Springfield Boulevards via Queens Boulevard and Union Turnpike. NY 25 went unchanged until January 1, 1970, when NY 24 was truncated to begin at the junction of 212th Street and Hillside Avenue. NY 24's former alignment along Queens Boulevard and Hillside Avenue became part of a realigned NY 25, which also used a previously unnumbered segment of Hillside Avenue between 212th Street and Braddock Avenue.
In 1941, the New York City Planning Department proposed converting Queens Boulevard into a freeway, as was done with the Van Wyck Expressway, from the Queensboro Bridge to Hillside Avenue. The boulevard would be converted to an expressway with grade separation at the more important intersections, and by closing off access from minor streets. As part of the project, the express lanes of Queens Boulevard were depressed in the area of Woodhaven Boulevard and Horace Harding Boulevard, while the local lanes were kept at grade level. The plan to upgrade the boulevard was delayed with the onset of World War II, and was never completed.
In 1942, NY 24 was realigned to enter Manhattan by way of the Queens–Midtown Tunnel. As a result, NY 24 now left NY 25 at what is now exit 36 on the Brooklyn–Queens Expressway.
On November 18, 1949, the Traffic Commission approved the retiming of traffic signals along the entirety of Queens Boulevard to speed traffic, which would take effect about February 1, 1950. The change, known as the "triple-offset system" was expected to reduce peak congestion, like what was done on the Grand Concourse. Westbound traffic would be favored from 7 to 9 a.m., while eastbound traffic would be favored from 5 to 7 p.m. The Boulevard handled 73,000 cars on an average weekday, with a peak of 7,600 cars an hour towards Manhattan, and a peak of 6,700 to points east.
The overlap with NY 25A was removed by 1952 after that route was truncated to the intersection of Northern and Queens Boulevards.
The overlaps with both NY 24 and NY 25A into Manhattan were eliminated in 1964.
NY 25 continued to extend into Manhattan until the 1964 when NY 22 was truncated to end in the North Bronx.
Westbound traffic on NY 25 continued off the Queensboro Bridge onto 60th Street to Park Avenue, where it turned south, then west along 57th Street to its terminus at the West Side Highway. Eastbound traffic traveled on 57th Street from NY 9A to the Queensboro Bridge entrance ramp. In 1967, NY 25 was truncated to end in Queens as a result.
File:ON QUEENS BOULEVARD IN QUEENS, HEADED TOWARD THE EAST RIVER AND MANHATTAN - NARA - 549886.jpg|thumb|At 59th Street, looking toward the East River and Manhattan, 1973
In 1960, Queens borough president John T. Clancy proposed reconstructing the entire seven-mile boulevard to meet traffic demand from the 1964 New York World's Fair for $17.1 million. Due to bureaucratic issues and the need to finance the project using city funds, the project was delayed and cut back to a 2.5 mile section for $2.6 million. Underpasses at Union Turnpike and at Grand Avenue—Broadway were dropped from the plan. On September 3, 1964, the Department of Highways announced that the project was far behind the project's original schedule. Only $2.6 million for the central section of the project was approved as rebuilding more than a mile of the road a time was deemed to be too disruptive for travel. At the time, the rebuilding of the first 1-mile section from 70th Avenue to Union Turnpike was completed. The six service road lanes were resurfaced, yellow asphalt surfacing was installed to guide drivers turning at intersections, and malls were narrowed to widen the roadway and provide space for cars turning off the six-lane main roadway. Work on the 63rd Drive to 70th Avenue section was 70 percent complete, and the Department of Highways expected to request the release of $400,000 for the section to Woodhaven Boulevard within two weeks. Work on that section was expected to start in 1965. Queens Boulevard handled more than 85,000 vehicles a day, making it the second busiest roadway in the city, after the Long Island Expressway, which handled 125,000 vehicles a day.
In 1969, many traffic lights in Queens were computerized, reducing travel time by as much as 25 percent during off-peak hours, and as much as 39 percent during rush hour.
On January 1, 1970, the road was reextended across the Queensboro Bridge to a new terminus at FDR Drive.
The interchange between I-495 and CR 58 in Riverhead was completed as a result of I-495's eastern completion. This interchange was fully operational by 1972. It features grade separated ramps, high-speed banked curves, and interstate standard signing.
In the early 1970s, the New York State Department of Transportation wanted to install frontage roads along a divided NY 25 between Nesconset and Lake Grove as part of a proposed upgrade of NY 347 into a freeway.
In the 1960s and 1970s, NYSDOT wanted to realign both NY 25 and NY 112 in Coram. The realignment and widening of NY 25 was to take place between NY 112 and Winfield Davis Drive.
A traffic light at Manor Road was installed at the time of completion of Splish Splash Water Park in 1991.
File:QueensBlvd-GrandAve PedWarning Sign-Elmhurst.jpg|right|thumb|"A Pedestrian Was Killed Crossing Here" sign on Queens Boulevard at Grand Avenue in Elmhurst
In 1985, the New York City Department of Transportation started a project to examine the causes of fatalities and injuries on the boulevard. The changing of traffic signals to increase crossing times across the boulevard helped reduce the average pedestrian deaths in a section in Forest Hills and Rego Park from 4 each year from 1980 and 1984 to 1 in 1986. In four of the five years between 1988 and 1992, as many people were killed in car accidents on the boulevard as on any other street in the city. Between 1991 and 1992, new speed limit signs were installed on the boulevard, police enforcement of traffic light and speeding violations was increased, and the timing for street lights was adjusted.
Up until 2005, the section of NY 25 that forms the border between New York City and Nassau County was simultaneously named Jamaica Avenue on the westbound side and Jericho Turnpike on the eastbound side. Some map makers only showed one of the names. The confusion ended where the road wholly entered Nassau County and thus became Jericho Turnpike in both directions. Similarly, both sides of the road west of Braddock Avenue were known as Jamaica Avenue even though the south side is still the Nassau County border until 225th Street. Legislation renaming the westbound side of NY 25 between Braddock Avenue and the Nassau County line as Jericho Turnpike was signed into law by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on June 6, 2005, and took effect on September 4.
Many former segments of the roads NY 25 follows exist along the current alignment, with most prefaced by the word "Old" in the road name. Within Jericho, Old Jericho Turnpike parallels the current road from a point east of the NY 106–NY 107 interchange and Marian Lane, where the old alignment merges with the current NY 25. Smithtown contains a former segment in the vicinity of the Nissequogue River with a bridge and former right-of-way that still exists today. In Coram, an old alignment of Middle Country Road extends from east of Paul's Path to Grant Smith Road. The road, however, is discontinuous at NY 112. At Middle Island, a former segment of Middle Country Road exists east of Church Lane and north of Bartlett Pond and runs to Robin Drive in Middle Island, where it rejoins NY 25. Another former segment used to dip south to avoid a small lake to the north. A small segment of the road remains intact as Old Middle Country Road from Picaso Way to Woodville Road. Prior to the construction of Picaso Way and the cluster developments it leads to, this section of Old Middle Country Road connected to the existing section at its west end, the stub of which can still be found.
Near Riverhead, Middle Country Road once followed a parallel roadway to the south of the current roadway between River Road and Forge Road. Although some of this section has been dismantled, a portion still exists as modern Forge Road from the Peconic River Bridge to Kroemer Avenue. In Laurel, New York, A quarter mile section was rerouted past the town hamlet of Laurel in a more direct and straight manner. The old section became Franklinville Road which connects to NY 25 at both ends of the 1/4 mile bypass. In Mattituck, an old alignment of Main Road exists as Old Main Road from Bray Avenue to west of Sigsbee Road. Southwest of Southold, Main Road originally followed the length of Lower Road and Ackerly Pond Lane between Lower Road and Main Road. To the northeast of the community, another former segment remains intact as Old Main Road between Budd's Pond and Mill Creek to Hashamomuck Pond.
East of Greenport, a former alignment of Main Road is located between the creek from Silver Lake and Silvermere Road. In Orient, two former routings of Main Road exist, both in the vicinity of Bight Road. The first, a loop connecting Grandview Drive to NY 25, is located west of Bight Road. The second, a loop providing access to Whalers Road from NY 25, is west of Charles Rose Airport.
In 2025, a bus lane was constructed on NY 25 around Jamaica, between 139th Street and Springfield Boulevard. These bus lanes, which are offset from the curb, replaced a set of curbside bus lanes that had been in place since 1969.