 Prior to the construction of Grand Central Parkway and Interboro Parkway (now the Jackie Robinson Parkway) in the 1930s, Union Turnpike was heavily used, and developed businesses throughout its length.The section of Union Turnpike from Kew Gardens to the Nassau County line had been converted from a narrow unpaved road to a paved multi-lane highway in the late 1930s ahead of the 1939 New York World's Fair.Around the same time, the turnpike was depressed below Queens Boulevard in conjunction with the construction of the Queens Boulevard Subway, and extended eastward from Fresh Meadows towards Marcus Avenue in Nassau County.