Environmental challenges called for creative problem solving on a Long Island Expressway interchange. The need to improve the interchange between the Long Island Expressway and Cross Island Parkway in Queens, New York, was identified as a very important component of the western terminus of the New York State Department of Transportation's LIE Capacity Improvement Project.

Already heavily traveled, the corridors were becoming increasingly congested. Volumes on the Cross Island were at 120,000 and on the LIE were approaching 200,000 vehicles a day. These volumes were projected to grow with added lanes to the east in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. In addition, the heavy traffic caused cars to spill onto local streets, creating safety problems for both vehicles and pedestrians.

A remedy was clearly necessary, but designers were confronted with an overriding problem: The project site was located within and adjacent to Alley Pond Park, an environmental treasure, and the public and environmentalists did not want it to be disturbed.

The interchange improvement was the last critical link in the completion of the LIE capacity (high-occupancy vehicle lane) improvement project in eastern Queens and western Nassau County.

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