Editing Interstate 278 (section)

{{short description|Interstate Highway in New Jersey and New York}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox road
| country = USA
| type = I
| route = 278
| map = {{maplink-road}}
| map_custom = yes
| map_notes = Map of New York City with I-278 highlighted in red
| map_alt = A map of New York City with major roads. I-278 runs southwest to northeast across the city.
| length_mi = 35.63
| length_ref = <ref name="njdot-sld" /><ref name="nysdot-2010tvr" />
| established = 1961
| maint = [[New Jersey Department of Transportation|NJDOT]], [[Port Authority of New York and New Jersey|PANYNJ]], [[New York State Department of Transportation|NYSDOT]], [[New York City Department of Transportation|NYCDOT]], and [[MTA Bridges and Tunnels|MTAB&T]]
| restrictions = No drivers with [[learner's permit]]s on [[Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge|Verrazzano]] & [[Robert F. Kennedy Bridge|Triborough]] Bridges
| direction_a = West
| terminus_a = {{Jct|state=NJ|US|1-9}} in [[Linden, New Jersey|Linden, NJ]]
| junction = {{plainlist|
* {{jct|state=NJ|I-Toll|95|NJTP2||NJ|439}} in [[Elizabeth, New Jersey|Elizabeth, NJ]]
* {{Jct|state=NY|NY|440}} from [[Bloomfield, Staten Island|Bloomfield, NY]] to [[Bulls Head, Staten Island|Bulls Head]]/[[Graniteville, Staten Island|Graniteville, NY]]
* {{Jct|state=NY|Parkway|Belt}} in [[Bay Ridge, Brooklyn|Bay Ridge, NY]] and [[Sunset Park, Brooklyn|Sunset Park, NY]]
* {{Jct|state=NY|NY|27}} in [[Greenwood Heights, Brooklyn|Greenwood Heights, NY]]
* {{Jct|state=NY|I-Toll|478}} in [[Red Hook, Brooklyn|Red Hook, NY]]
* {{Jct|state=NY|I|495}} in [[Long Island City|Long Island City, NY]]
* {{jct|state=NY|Parkway|Grand Central}} in [[Astoria, Queens|Astoria, NY]]
* {{Jct|state=NY|I|87}} in [[Port Morris, Bronx|Port Morris, NY]]
* {{Jct|state=NY|Parkway|Bronx River NYC}} in [[Soundview, Bronx|Soundview, NY]]
}}
| direction_b = East
| terminus_b = {{jct|state=NY|I|95|I|295|I|678|Parkway|Hutchinson River}} in [[Throggs Neck|Throggs Neck, NY]]
| states = [[New Jersey]], [[New York (state)|New York]]
| counties = '''NJ:''' [[Union County, New Jersey|Union]]<br />'''NY:''' [[Staten Island|Richmond]], [[Brooklyn|Kings]], [[Queens]], [[Manhattan|New York]], [[The Bronx|Bronx]]
| system1 = {{infobox road/browselinks/USA|state=NJ}}
| system2 = {{infobox road/browselinks/USA|state=NY}}
| browse = {{nj browse|previous_type=NJ|previous_route=208|route=NJ|next_type=I|next_route=280}}
{{ny browse|previous_type=NY|previous_route=277|route=NY|next_type=NY|next_route=278}}
| spur_type = I
| spur_of = 78
}}

'''Interstate&nbsp;278''' ('''I-278''') is an [[List of auxiliary Interstate Highways|auxiliary Interstate Highway]] in [[New Jersey]] and [[New York (state)|New York]] in the United States. The road runs {{convert|35.62|mi|km}} from [[U.S. Route&nbsp;1/9|US Route&nbsp;1/9]] (US&nbsp;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 of New York City|boroughs]].{{efn|It does not go through the island of [[Manhattan]] but does pass through [[Randalls and Wards Islands]], which are technically a part of the borough of Manhattan.}} 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 Bridge|Goethals]], [[Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge| Verrazzano-Narrows]], [[Kosciuszko Bridge|Kosciuszko]], and [[Robert F. Kennedy Bridge|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 [[Interstate Highway standards|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 [[Interstate 78 in New Jersey|I-78]]. There were once plans to extend I-278 west to I-78 east of the [[New Jersey Route 24|Route&nbsp;24]] interchange in [[Springfield Township, Union County, New Jersey|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 [[Interstate 295 (New York)|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. [[Interstate 87 (New York)|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 [[New York State Route 895|I-895]] between I-87 and the Sheridan Expressway and [[Interstate 678|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).

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