After the exit for the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, I-278 heads north onto the six-lane Brooklyn–Queens Expressway, passing through urban neighborhoods near downtown Brooklyn on a depressed alignment. The next interchange the highway reaches serves Atlantic Avenue. After Atlantic Avenue, the road runs along the East River harbor in downtown Brooklyn/Brooklyn Heights and is partially covered to create the Brooklyn Heights Promenade. I-278, at this point maintained by the New York City Department of Transportation, makes a sharp turn to the east away from the East River and comes to an interchange serving the Brooklyn Bridge and Cadman Plaza. The freeway continues on an elevated alignment and makes a turn southeast as it comes to ramps accessing the Manhattan Bridge.