What Happened
Two right lanes on westbound I-495 in Queens County were blocked Wednesday, September 16, 2026, after a minor crash on the corridor. The incident was logged in traffic reports on the afternoon of September 16. No exact time of the initial collision or responding agency has been confirmed in the available report.
No injuries have been publicly reported. The lane blockage affected the two rightmost westbound lanes; the left lanes remained passable. No information on the vehicles involved, the number of drivers, or the cause of the crash has been released.
Location & Road Context
I-495, the Long Island Expressway, runs west through Queens County before entering Midtown Manhattan via the Queens–Midtown Tunnel. The westbound lanes through Queens carry heavy commuter volume during afternoon and evening rush periods. A two-right-lane closure on this stretch can push backups well past the interchange with the Van Wyck Expressway.
According to Long Island Traffic’s incident registry, this crash is one of 108 recorded incidents on I-495 in the past 30 days and one of 489 on the corridor so far in 2026. Three other minor crashes on I-495 were recorded the same day — see here, here, and a separate HOV-lane incident. The most recent prior fatal crash on the corridor was August 26, 2026. Queens County has 354 recorded accidents in Long Island Traffic’s local incident database.
Real-time conditions on I-495 can be monitored through 511NY and the Queens roads page.