Traffic & Transit

Cross Island Parkway Lanes To Fully Close This Weekend, MTA Says

Partial lane closures begin Saturday night, and the parkway won't fully reopen until Sunday evening, amid work on the Elmont LIRR station.

Southbound lanes will be closed between Grand Central Parkway and Hempstead Avenue (Exit 26B), pictured here.
Southbound lanes will be closed between Grand Central Parkway and Hempstead Avenue (Exit 26B), pictured here. (Google Maps)

QUEENS — Getting from northeast to southeast Queens is going to be a lot harder this weekend since stretches of the Cross Island Parkway will be fully closed, the MTA is warning drivers.

Lane closures on the Cross Island Parkway will begin at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday Oct. 23, while the MTA conducts work on the Elmont Long Island Rail Road station. The parkway will not fully reopen until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24, the agency said.

The first lane closure will be a southbound lane between Grand Central Parkway and Hempstead Avenue (Exit 26B), which will close to cars at 10:00 p.m. on Saturday night, followed by a double lane closure an hour later.

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At midnight on Oct. 24, all southbound lanes between those exits will close until 6:00 p.m., at which point one southbound lane will reopen. All southbound lanes will reopen an hour later, the MTA said.

For cars heading northbound, two lanes on the parkway between the Belt Parkway and Jamaica Avenue (Exit 27/27E) will close at 1:00 a.m. on Oct. 24. Then, from 3:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Sunday all of the northbound lanes between those exits will be closed.

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The northbound lanes will gradually reopen, starting with one lane at 9:00 a.m., a second lane at 1:00 p.m. and then a full reopening at 8:00 p.m.

During these closures, drivers will be re-routed onto other highways, including the Van Wyck Expressway and the Meadowbrook State Parkway. The MTA is encouraging drivers to consider using those highways in order to get from northern to southern Queens over the weekend.

The MTA's work will also impact LIRR service this weekend, the agency is warning travelers.

These closures are part of the $1.3 billion project to redevelop Belmont Park into a "world-class sports and entertainment destination," complete with a new arena for the New York Islanders, a retail and entertainment complex, and a hotel.

The project was first announced in 2017, and two years later former Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled plans for a new LIRR station in Elmont, which will in part serve the Belmont Park complex.

The Cross Island Parkway closures are necessary in order for the MTA to install steel girders over the roadway, which will support future LIRR platforms at the Elmont station. Agency crews are also conducting switch work.

“This station, in conjunction with Mainline Expansion, will definitively boost the region’s connectivity and economy to a new level,” said LIRR President Phil Eng of the Elmont station, which is the first full-service station to open in almost half a century.

The Elmont station will partially open in Nov., will a full opening expected next fall, the MTA said.


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