Belt Parkway
East end | Cross Island Parkway / Southern State Parkway in Cambria Heights |
---|---|
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
Counties | Kings, Queens |
Highway system | |
The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of
Route description
The Shore Parkway, Southern Parkway, Laurelton Parkway, and
Shore Parkway
The Belt Parkway begins at an interchange (exit 22) with the
Just east of the field, the Belt Parkway comes within the shadows of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and passes exit 2, which serves as the southern terminus of Fourth Avenue. After crossing under the bridge, the westbound lanes enter exit 3 which connects to the Verrazzano. Eastbound, the lanes from the bridge connecting to the Belt merge in, as the road enters Dyker Beach Park and Golf Course. During a short gap away from the shore, the Belt passes a parking area for Dyker Beach Park, entering exit 4, which services Bay 8th Street and 14th Avenue. Continuing along the park, the Belt begins to parallel Cropsey Avenue and passes another parking area before reaching exit 5, a junction with Bay Parkway. This marks the eastern end of Dyker Beach Park, and the route begins to parallel shoreline strip malls before reaching Calvert Vaux Park.[4]
Now in the
At exit 8, the Belt Parkway connects to
After exit 11N, the Belt Parkway continues east through Floyd Bennett Field, crossing over the
Now crossing over the Old Mill Basin section of
Southern and Laurelton Parkways
Now on the Southern Parkway section of the Belt, the Belt continues eastward into exit 19, which connects to NY 878 (the Nassau Expressway) and indirectly with I-678, the Van Wyck Expressway. This interchange also serves as access to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Now with North and South Conduit Avenues serving as westbound and eastbound frontage roads for the parkway, passing exit 20, a junction with the JFK Expressway and the airport. Crossing under the Van Wyck, the Belt continues east through multiple underpasses and overpasses before reaching exit 21A, westbound side, which services 150th Street and Rockaway Boulevard. Crossing under Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, the Belt passes exit 21B, which connects to Farmers Boulevard and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard.[4]
Exit 22 services
At this interchange, the Belt Parkway crosses over the Southern State and becomes the Cross Island Parkway, which continues north through Queens, connecting to I-495, the Grand Central Parkway and eventually I-678, the Whitestone Expressway.[4]
History
Proposal
The Belt Parkway was proposed by public official and highway advocate
In a 1937 report titled “New Parkways in New York City”, the New York City Parks Department proposed the Belt Parkway in the following outline:
The Circumferential Parkway begins at Owl's Head Park at the Narrows, and follows the Shore Drive through Fort Hamilton and Dyker Beach Park. The City of New York was vested title in an extension along Gravesend Bay to Bensonhurst Park, and is about to acquire the remaining rights-of-way up to Guilder Avenue, including sufficient land for the conversion of Guilder Avenue into a genuine parkway with service roads. It is proposed to acquire the rights-of-way for the extension of Guilder Avenue by means of a new parkway parallel to, and north of Emmons Avenue to the Marine Parkway extension, for which land is already in the possession of the City. It is proposed to carry the Circumferential Parkway from Flatbush Avenue where the Marine Parkway extension ends, along or near Jamaica Bay to a point on Southern Parkway, just east of the Rockaway division of the Long Island Railroad in Queens. Work on the conversion of the Sunrise Highway into a genuine parkway is already under way. This will be known as Southern Parkway.[6]
Construction
Construction began in 1934. New highway designs were implemented, including dark main roads and lighter-colored entrance and exit ramps. The parkway first opened on June 29, 1940, with most of Cross Island, Southern, and Shore Parkway sections completed.[11] A 12-mile (19 km) bike path along the Southern Brooklyn section of the Belt Parkway opened in 1941.[12]
The construction of Belt Parkway entailed:
- 11,800,000 cubic yards (9,000,000 m3) of hydraulic fill pumped
- 4,800,000 cubic yards (3,700,000 m3) of dry fill moved
- 1,500,000 square yards (1,300,000 m2) of pavement used
- 530,000 cubic yards (410,000 m3) of concrete used
- 11,500 cubic yards (8,800 m3) of masonry used
- 400,000 feet (120,000 m) of piles used
- 320,000 short tons (290,000 long tons) of steel used
- 9,000 men employed[6]
All the original parkways, except the Gowanus, were built on grassy rights-of-way with trees, in a more green surrounding than most highways of their time. To build sections between exits 7 and 8 in the 1930s parts of Coney Island Creek were filled in, finishing the process, begun over a decade before construction began, of turning Coney Island from an island into a peninsula.[13] The Gowanus Parkway, in part replacing the demolished Fifth Avenue Line, was built as an elevated structure over Third and Hamilton Avenues in order to avoid the active docks and industrial areas including Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Like most
Completed system
The Belt Parkway formed the southern portion of a system of parkways and highways that connected every borough except
In 1969, the New York City Council co-named the Belt Parkway Leif Ericson Drive between exit 2 and exit 9, to recognize the large Scandinavian population in Bay Ridge.[20]
In October 2009, NYCDOT launched the first phase of a capital project to reconstruct seven obsolete bridges along the Belt Parkway.[21] The first phase included the reconstruction of an overpass ramp from Guider Avenue, as well as the replacement of the Paerdegat Basin and Rockaway Parkway bridges, which was completed in 2012.[22] In 2021, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed widening a 2-mile (3.2 km) section of the Belt Parkway near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.[23][24]
Exit list
County | Location | mi [1][25][26][27] | km | Old exit [28] | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bronx | Exit 22 on I-278 | ||||||
Bay Ridge | 0.80– 1.20 | 1.29– 1.93 | 5 | 1 | 65th–67th Streets | Access via Shore Road | |
4th Avenue / Fort Hamilton Parkway | |||||||
3.70 | 5.95 | 3 | Staten Island | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; exit 16 on I-278 | |||
Fort Hamilton–Bath Beach line | 4.47 | 7.19 | 7 | 4 | Bay 8th Street / 14th Avenue | ||
Bath Beach–Gravesend line | 5.63 | 9.06 | 8 | 5 | Bay Parkway | ||
Gravesend | 6.40– 6.80 | 10.30– 10.94 | 9 | 6 | Cropsey Avenue / Stillwell Avenue – Coney Island | Signed as exits 6S (south) and 6N (north) westbound | |
7.40– 8.20 | 11.91– 13.20 | 10 | 7A | Shell Road – Coney Island | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; former exit 7S | ||
11 | 7B | Ocean Parkway | Signed as exit 7 eastbound; former exits 7S-N | ||||
Sheepshead Bay | 7.80– 8.50 | 12.55– 13.68 | 12 | 8 | Coney Island Avenue | ||
9.30– 10.20 | 14.97– 16.42 | 13 | 9 | Knapp Street – Sheepshead Bay | Split into exits 9A and 9B eastbound; both lead to Knapp Street | ||
Gerritsen Inlet | 10.70 | 17.22 | Bridge | ||||
Marine Park | Signed as exits 11S (south) and 11N (north) | ||||||
Bergen Beach | 12.70 | 20.44 | 12 | Jamaica Bay Riding Academy | Eastbound exit and entrance; exit number not signed | ||
Paerdegat Basin | 13.55 | 21.81 | Bridge | ||||
Canarsie | 14.38 | 23.14 | 15 | 13 | Rockaway Parkway | ||
East New York | 15.42 | 24.82 | 16 | 14 | Pennsylvania Avenue | ||
16.20 | 26.07 | 15 | Erskine Street | ||||
Woodhaven, Rockaways | Signed as exits 17S (south) and 17N (north) westbound | ||||||
18 | 17W | NY 27 west (North Conduit Avenue) | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||||
South Ozone Park | 18.70– 19.20 | 30.09– 30.90 | 19 | 18B | Lefferts Boulevard – Aqueduct Racetrack, Long-Term Parking | Eastbound exit is part of exit 19 | |
18.30– 20.20 | 29.45– 32.51 | 20 | 19 | Kennedy Airport | Westbound airport access is via exit 20; exit 1 on I-678 | ||
21.00– 21.30 | 33.80– 34.28 | 21 | 20 | Kennedy Airport | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; northern terminus of JFK Expressway | ||
Rochdale line | 19.60– 21.50 | 31.54– 34.60 | 22 | 21A | 150th Street / Rockaway Boulevard | Signed as exit 20 eastbound | |
21.20– 22.20 | 34.12– 35.73 | 23 | 21B | Farmers Boulevard / Guy R. Brewer Boulevard | No eastbound access to Guy R. Brewer Boulevard | ||
21.80– 22.40 | 35.08– 36.05 | 22 | Springfield Boulevard | ||||
Sunrise Highway ) / Brookville Boulevard | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||||||
Laurelton–Rosedale line | 23.30 | 37.50 | 23A | NY 27 west (North Conduit Avenue) / 225th Street | Westbound exit only | ||
23.40– 23.70 | 37.66– 38.14 | 24A | Merrick Boulevard | No westbound signage for Merrick Boulevard (also known as Floyd H. Flake Boulevard) | |||
23.90 | 38.46 | 24B | Merrick Boulevard (westbound) / 130th Avenue (eastbound) | ||||
Eastern Long Island | Western terminus of Southern State Parkway | ||||||
25B | Elmont Road / Linden Boulevard | ||||||
– | Whitestone Bridge | Continuation north | |||||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
See also
References
- ^ a b "2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. June 16, 2009. p. 253. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2012. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ "Bridge Inventory Manual – Appendix G: State Touring Route Numbers for Named Roads" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. April 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
- ^ New York State Department of Transportation (January 2017). Official Description of Highway Touring Routes, Bicycling Touring Routes, Scenic Byways, & Commemorative/Memorial Designations in New York State (PDF). Retrieved June 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Microsoft; Nokia (February 2, 2013). "overview map of the Belt Parkway" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
- ^ Gannon, Michael. "Merrick Boulevard renamed for Floyd Flake". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved December 3, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Belt Parkway". Nycroads.com. Retrieved May 4, 2014.
- ^ "ASKS NEW CITY PARKS TO COST $20,000,000; Metropolitan Conference Urges Prompt Purchases, Chiefly in Queens and Richmond. BERRY GETS HONOR SCROLL Calls for a 'Normal' Pace in Public Projects and Predicts Agency to Coordinate Them". The New York Times. February 26, 1930. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
- ^ Lewis, Harold M. (January 5, 1930). "MOTORWAYS PROPOSED FOR NEW YORK REGION". The New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ISBN 978-1-317-50255-5. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
- ^ "Expressway Plans". Regional Plan News (73–74). Regional Plan Association: 1–18. May 1964. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ "Belt Road To Open to Traffic Today". The New York Times. June 29, 1940. p. 12.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
- ^ Meg Schneider, New York Yesterday & Today, Voyageur Press, page 44
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ProQuest 1243016733.
- ^ "New Highway Link to Open Thursday; No Ceremony to Mark Event at Queens Connecting Lane, Cashmore Announces". The New York Times. May 21, 1950. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "9.5 Million Project to Aid Boro Traffic" (PDF). Long Island Star-Journal. December 16, 1957. p. 1 – via Fultonhistory.com.
- State of New York Department of Transportation (January 1, 1970). Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State(PDF). Albany: State of New York Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 14, 2010.
- ^ "Belt Parkway/Shore Parkway". New York City Department of Parks and Recreation. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
- ^ "Reconstruction of Seven Bridges on the Belt Parkway" (PDF). nyc.gov. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
- ^ Bush, Daniel (January 5, 2012). "New Belt Parkway bridge paves the way for better gangplanks". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ Duggan, Kevin (July 14, 2021). "MTA's highway-widening plan near Verrazzano Bridge draws heat". amNewYork. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ "MTA Plans To Widen Parts Of Belt Parkway While Mayor De Blasio Pushes For Congestion Pricing". CBS News. July 16, 2021. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ Google (January 6, 2016). "Belt Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ^ "Queens County Inventory Listing" (CSV). New York State Department of Transportation. August 7, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ "Kings County Inventory Listing" (CSV). New York State Department of Transportation. August 7, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Greater New York Ferries, Bridges, Tunnels and Parkways (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally. Rand McNally. 1960. Retrieved April 1, 2019.
External links
- Belt Parkway at Alps' Roads
- Belt Parkway Historic Overview at Steve Anderson's nycroads.com
- Belt Parkway (Greater New York Roads)
- Belt Parkway (Jeff's Parkway Site: Photo Gallery)