Astoria Boulevard

Astoria Boulevard

Astoria Boulevard in East Elmhurst
Other name(s)	Astoria Boulevard North Astoria Boulevard South
Namesake	John Jacob Astor
Owner	City of New York
Maintained by	NYCDOT
Length	4.4 mi (7.1 km)
Location	Queens
Postal code	11102, 11103, 11377, 11370, 11369
Nearest metro station	Astoria Boulevard
West end	1st Street in Astoria
Major junctions	I-278 / Grand Central Parkway in Astoria
East end	NY 25A / Grand Central Parkway in East Elmhurst

Astoria Boulevard is an important east-west commercial street in northwestern Astoria, Queens, New York City. It runs from 1st Street at the East River to the World's Fair Marina on Flushing Bay, where it merges with Northern Boulevard. Just before the junction of the two boulevards, there is a large two lane ramp leading to the Whitestone Expressway. Most of the traffic on Astoria Boulevard heads toward this ramp, and then onto the Expressway.

Astoria Boulevard is the southern border of Astoria Heights, and the northern border of North Corona.

In East Elmhurst, Astoria Boulevard is a wide six lane, median divided street. However, traffic is usually light on the boulevard, presumably because the boulevard runs parallel to the busier Northern Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway. During rush hours, though, this road becomes a major artery, serving as an alternate route to the Grand Central Parkway to access the Whitestone Expressway, and as a result, it frequently becomes congested. The efficient synchronization of the traffic lights minimize heavy delays, making this a popular alternate route to take instead of the Grand Central. The portion of Astoria Boulevard between roughly 31st and 78th Streets in Astoria serves as a frontage road, or service road for the Grand Central Parkway.

Between 31st and 1st streets, it is a busy two lane road, with bidirectional traffic. Here most of the traffic is bound for either the Whitestone Expressway or the Grand Central Parkway.

Astoria Boulevard is served by the BMT Astoria Line at the Astoria Boulevard station (N W trains), as well as the Q19, Q49 and M60 bus routes.