from Idlewild Airport (now JFK Airport) in the south to Queens Boulevard in the north. The six-lane expressway was to be built along the path of what was then Van Wyck Boulevard, and it was to cost $11.65 million. The original street and the freeway were both named after former New York City Mayor Robert Anderson Van Wyck, but the pronunciation of "Wyck" was heavily disputed: depending on the person, "Wyck" could rhyme with either "lick" or "like". The Van Wyck Expressway was to be built to higher standards than New York's parkways, as it was intended to handle truck traffic. The highway would contain three lanes in each direction, as well as cobblestone shoulders. Several parks and playgrounds were also built along the expressway's route. In 1946, the city started relocating or demolishing houses in the proposed expressway's right-of-way. The city had acquired 355 houses in the expressway's path, and it ultimately relocated 263 households, as well as the Van Wyck Avenue Congregational Church. In some cases, the city government placed existing houses on trailers and rolled them to vacant sites nearby, allowing residents to move back into their houses in as little as 24 to 48 hours. One four-story apartment building, which housed 35 families, was placed on metal rollers and relocated away from the expressway's path. Normally, new houses would have been built for these families, but there was not enough land to build individual homes for these families. After some of the houses were relocated, they were sold to military veterans at reduced prices. The first major contract for the Van Wyck Expressway's construction was awarded in September 1947, when Rusciano and Son was contracted to build retaining walls and utilities along the expressway's right of way. Construction was delayed several times; the state government had rejected bids for several major contracts, saying the bids were too high. One of the most complex aspects of the project was the replacement of an overpass carrying the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) near the Jamaica station. The LIRR overpass alone cost $3.2 million, as contractors could not interrupt service on the LIRR corridor, which carried 1,635 trains every twenty-four hours. The final construction contract for the Van Wyck's first segment was awarded in January 1950. The segment from Queens Boulevard to Idlewild ultimately cost $17 million. It opened on October 14, 1950, with a ceremony attended by New