Interstate 678

Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for 14 miles (23 km) 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 across the East River to the Bruckner Interchange in the Bronx, where I-678 ends and the Hutchinson River Parkway begins.

I-678 connects to I-495 (the Long Island Expressway) in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. The highway is known as the Van Wyck Expressway (/væn ˈwɪk/ van WIK or /væn ˈwaɪk/ van WYKE) from JFK Airport to Northern Boulevard (New York State Route 25A or NY 25A), the Whitestone Expressway from NY 25A north to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge, and the Hutchinson River Expressway from the bridge to the Bruckner Interchange. North of the interchange, I-678 ends and the roadway continues as the Hutchinson River Parkway.

The portion of I-678 north of NY 25A follows the path of the Whitestone Parkway and a short section of the Hutchinson River Parkway's Bronx extension. The Whitestone and Hutchinson River parkways were first opened in 1939, while the Van Wyck Expressway opened in pieces between 1950 and 1953. Both highways were connected to each other and upgraded to meet Interstate Highway standards in the early 1960s. The Hutchinson River and Whitestone Expressways were collectively designated as I-678 c. 1965. The designation was extended southward in 1970 to follow the Van Wyck Expressway to its end at JFK Airport.

I-678 begins at JFK Airport in the borough of Queens and proceeds along the stretch of highway known as the Van Wyck Expressway. I-678 progresses westward through the airport, crossing under airport taxiways as a six-lane freeway. Just after the taxiways, the expressway connects with North Service Road, which services the airport's western services. From there, the expressway begins to turn northward and crosses the United Airlines hangar. I-678 continues its northwestern path, curving to the northeast at the interchange with Federal Circle. From there, the highway continues northward, becoming a divided highway and meeting NY 878 (the Nassau Expressway) at exit 1E. I-678 continues northward to the Kennedy Airport Interchange, where it crosses under the Nassau Expressway and over NY 27 east (South Conduit Avenue) and the Belt Parkway, and then over NY 27 west (North Conduit Avenue) at exit 1B. At this point the highway exits the facility of JFK Airport and maintenance switches to the New York State Department of Transportation.

North of North Conduit Avenue, AirTrain JFK's elevated people mover structure begins to run above the expressway's median, and the Van Wyck descends to an open-cut structure. At this point, I-678 gains service roads on either side, connecting to local streets. I-678 continues northward along the Van Wyck Expressway through Queens, interchanging with Rockaway Boulevard, Linden Boulevard, Liberty Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue at exits 2 through 5, respectively. Just south of Atlantic Avenue, the AirTrain structure diverges to the east. After entering Jamaica, the Van Wyck crosses under a complex, two-level Long Island Rail Road structure with 13 tracks.

Continuing northward, the expressway passes Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and intersects Jamaica Avenue at exit 6. I-678 expands to eight lanes as it crosses under Hillside Avenue (NY 25B), which is serviced by exit 7 in the southbound direction. A short distance later, the highway approaches a large interchange with NY 25 (Queens Boulevard) and Main Street at exits 8–9. After crossing under Hoover Avenue, I-678 enters the Kew Gardens Interchange, a complex interchange with traffic from five directions. I-678 crosses on overpasses over Union Turnpike, the Grand Central Parkway, the Jackie Robinson Parkway, and different interchange ramps before returning at-grade in Flushing. There, the highway turns northwestward once again, interchanging with Jewel Avenue via Park Drive East at exit 11. Crossing through Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, I-678 continues northward until exit 12, where there are ramps to College Point Boulevard and the westbound Long Island Expressway (I-495). After the interchange with the Long Island Expressway, the Van Wyck continues northeastward. A short distance later, the expressway crosses under Roosevelt Avenue and the IRT Flushing Line (7 and <7>​ trains) of the New York City Subway. After crossing Roosevelt Avenue, I-678 passes Citi Field to the west, then intersects NY 25A (Northern Boulevard) and the Whitestone Expressway at the Flushing River Interchange, via exit 13. At this point, I-678 transitions onto the Whitestone Expressway.

The Whitestone Expressway continues northward into College Point, where the service roads resume. I-678 passes over Linden Place, served by exit 14, and continues northeastward past the distribution center of The New York Times to the west. Shortly afterward, I-678's service roads intersect with 20th Avenue in Whitestone, and there are ramps to and from the service roads at exit 15. I-678 passes under 14th Avenue a short distance to the north. Just after 14th Avenue, the lefthand lanes of both directions diverge to exit 16, which continues onto Cross Island Parkway via a left exit. The service roads end at this point.

After the interchange with Cross Island Parkway, the Whitestone Expressway turns to the northwest as a six-lane expressway that passes through Whitestone. After exit 17, which serves 3rd Avenue, the expressway passes over Francis Lewis Park and begins its approach onto the Whitestone Bridge over the East River. The highway leaves Queens and enters the Bronx along the bridge. The bridge descends to ground level and I-678 passes through an open-road toll gantry, which is located at the former site of a tollbooth. Afterward, the expressway intersects Lafayette Avenue. North of Lafayette Avenue is the Bruckner Interchange, where I-678's designation ends and the highway continues northward as the Hutchinson River Parkway.