Street also suffered from severe congestion, as did the eastbound roadway near Springfield Boulevard. By 1972, the highway was being used by over 150,000 vehicles a day. State officials announced plans to designate the segment of the LIE east of I-295 as an Interstate highway following the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials did not formally extend the I-495 designation from New York City to Riverhead until May 1984. Subsequently, the entirety of the LIE was designated as I-495. Additional lanes in Queens The ramp from the westbound I-495 to the westbound I-278 in Queens was so congested that a traffic light was installed on that ramp in 1962. State officials planned to reconstruct the interchange, although the project was delayed for several years. In addition, they planned to build a six-lane viaduct above the existing highway between I-278 and 58th Street, which would carry traffic to and from the Queens–Midtown Tunnel. In 1966, the New York City Board of Estimate approved plans to reconstruct the interchange with I-278 as a cloverleaf interchange; the project was planned to cost around $70 million (equivalent to $ in ) and take three years. State officials awarded a contract for the project in June 1967, and work began that October. A ramp from the eastbound I-495 to I-278 opened in 1968. Starting in 1971, one lane of I-495 between the Queens–Midtown Tunnel and Maurice Avenue was converted to a westbound HOV and bus lane during the morning rush hour. Plans to widen I-495 between I-278 and I-678 were announced by New York City mayor John Lindsay in January 1968. Two additional local lanes would be built beside the three existing lanes in each direction. The plans were postponed in 1974 after state voters failed to approve a bond issue that would have funded the project. By 1976, officials were again seeking to widen I-495 using federal funds. The federal government gave $270 million (equivalent to $ in ) for the widening of I-495 in the 1970s, but the state government decided in 1978 to divide this funding among several projects. The state allocated $80 million (equivalent to $ in ) to improve medians and widen shoulders on I-495 in Queens. By the 1980s, the stretch of I-495 between I-278 and the Grand Central Parkway was frequently carrying 110 percent of its capacity,