High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes Now Open Between Kew Gardens Interchange and John F. Kennedy International Airport
$1.4 Billion Highway Modernization Project Will Ease Congestion Along this Major Queens Corridor
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced the substantial completion of main line work on the transformational $1.4 billion Van Wyck Expressway Project with the opening of new managed-use lanes for taxis and high-occupancy vehicles in both directions between the Kew Gardens Interchange and Atlantic Avenue and John F. Kennedy International Airport. A centerpiece of the project, the managed-use lanes will provide speedier trips to and from the airport for taxis and other multi-person vehicles, thereby encouraging their use and reducing congestion along the main line highway. The new lanes, which opened Friday morning, are one of several new features and safety enhancements added to the Van Wyck Expressway as part of the project, which will be considered fully complete once work to rehabilitate nearby service roads is finished later this year.
“Navigating the Van Wyck Expressway to get to and from JFK has all too often been a test of endurance for motorists regardless of the time of day, but that all changes now,” Governor Hochul said. “For years, commuters have navigated seemingly endless construction and delays along this critical artery, but today, with the conclusion of major work, New York enters a new era of faster, safer travel on the Van Wyck. These new lanes for high-occupancy vehicles are among several enhancements that will remove the headaches that have long been associated with travel on this busy highway and help ensure that travelers headed to and from JFK get where they need to go hassle-free.”
New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez said, “The Van Wyck Expressway is a vital link that connects New York City to JFK Airport — and by extension the rest of the world — and it has long been in need of a substantial investment to alleviate traffic and provide better access to the airport and surrounding communities. Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, we have been working full speed ahead to transform this highway and the results are tangible, which means safer travel, more resiliency against flooding and extreme weather, less congestion and fewer trucks on local streets.”
The Van Wyck Expressway’s new managed-use lanes will effectively operate as high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. They will be open to private vehicles, taxis and for-hire vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger. The lanes will also be open to buses.
Overseen by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the Van Wyck Expressway modernization is one of the most complex projects ever undertaken by the state and has re-worked the entire corridor between John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Kew Gardens Interchange in Queens to enhance safety, provide better vehicle flow and reduce congestion on the surrounding local street network. In addition to new managed-use lanes, the highway geometry was also reconfigured to provide longer entrance and exit ramps that prevent queueing on the highway and reduce weaving. Additionally, drainage systems were upgraded to bolster resiliency to severe weather and state-of-the art traffic management technology was installed.
Work kicked off in early 2020 with the replacement of the Long Island Rail Road Atlantic 6 bridge over the Van Wyck Expressway. Work also began that year on the multi-phase project to transform the 4.3-mile section of the Van Wyck Expressway in both directions between John F. Kennedy International Airport and the Kew Gardens Interchange in Queens, which has been undertaken in three phases.
The $342 million first phase, which was completed in 2023, rehabilitated or replaced nine overpasses that carry traffic over the expressway, extending their lifespan and creating enough space beneath the structures for the managed-use lanes. The $318 million second phase, which began in 2021, has replaced and improved four bridges carrying the Long Island Rail Road Main Line and the Atlantic and Montauk branches over the Expressway near Jamaica Station. Signal equipment, power infrastructure and drainage systems on the approaches to the new bridges were also replaced as part of this phase. The Atlantic Avenue bridge was also replaced, and the northbound and southbound Expressway service roads between Archer Avenue and Atlantic Avenue were reconstructed.
The $804 million third phase included the construction of the managed-use lanes and the replacement, rehabilitation or construction of 10 bridges that span the Van Wyck or carry the expressway over another roadway. Additionally, several exit and entrance ramps are being reconfigured to enhance safety and the area sewer system upgraded to better handle stormwater runoff and help prevent flooding in neighborhoods throughout southeast Queens. The drainage improvements included a $135 million, double-barrel sewer segment built in partnership with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, to address the chronic flooding problem experienced in southeast Queens.
Bridges rehabilitated or replaced as part of phase three include:
- The northernmost Van Wyck Expressway bridge over Federal Circle
- The northbound Van Wyck Expressway bridge over the southbound Exit 1/1E Ramp
- The Nassau Expressway bridge over the Van Wyck Expressway
- The southbound and northbound Van Wyck Expressway bridges over South Conduit Avenue, the Belt Parkway, and North Conduit Avenue
- The 86th Avenue Pedestrian Bridge
- The southbound Van Wyck Expressway bridge over southbound Main Street
In total, the project rehabilitated or replaced 23 bridges. Additionally, a new bridge has been constructed to carry the Van Wyck Expressway’s southbound Managed-Use Lane (MUL) over the Exit 1/1E ramp.
The Van Wyck Expressway Project builds on earlier work by NYSDOT to reduce congestion and improve access to John F. Kennedy Airport along the entire corridor, including the Long Island Expressway, the Grand Central Parkway, the $739 million modernization of the Kew Gardens Interchange, which was completed in December of 2022, and a $124 million project that rehabilitated a key viaduct along the Van Wyck Expressway between 57th Avenue and the Long Island Rail Road in Queens, which was completed in February of 2024.