Bronx River Parkway

Add links
Route map:
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

I-278 / Story Avenue in Soundview
Major intersections
North end NY 22 / Taconic State Parkway in North Castle
Location
CountryUnited States
StateNew York
CountiesBronx, Westchester
Highway system

The Bronx River Parkway (sometimes abbreviated as the Bronx Parkway) is a 19.12-mile (30.77 km)

reference route
. In Westchester County, the parkway is maintained by the Westchester County Department of Public Works and is designated unsigned County Route 9987 (CR 9987).

Most of the exits on the parkway, including the traffic light-controlled intersections in Westchester County, have interchange numbers. The term "Bronx River Parkway" originally referred to the Bronx River Reservation, New York's first

Kensico Dam Plaza. Current usage of the term is confined to the roadway, but extends it to the portion which now continues southward beyond the Reservation.[2] Its northern terminus ends with a rotary near the Kensico Dam with exits for the Taconic State Parkway
and Route 22.

Route description

The southern third of the parkway, in the Bronx, is exclusively controlled-access. It serves as a commuter route, intersecting several major east–west routes. Halfway through the borough it begins to closely parallel the Harlem Line of Metro-North Railroad, a pairing which continues to the road's northern terminus.

In Westchester County, the road continues to have the same character until the Sprain Brook Parkway splits off at Bronxville, allowing most through traffic to bypass White Plains. The stretches north of that junction have more of the original park character, and are still used that way. North of White Plains, all interchanges are at-grade intersections with traffic lights.

The Bronx

The parkway begins at Story Avenue in the neighborhood of Soundview in the Bronx, where two roadways merge near Metcalf and Morrison Avenues. Immediately to the north is the cloverleaf interchange at the Bruckner Expressway (Interstate 278 or I-278), where most traffic enters the parkway, which begins as a six-lane freeway.[3] Basketball courts and baseball fields flank the highway in the strip of parkland as the road leads to the north, slightly northwestward. North of Watson Avenue, within a half-mile (1 km) of the southern terminus, an on-ramp carries northbound traffic from Metcalf. The corresponding offramp for southbound traffic merges onto Harrod Avenue north of Westchester Avenue.[4]

Signage at exit 6 for the Bronx Zoo on the southbound side. (I-895 has since been redesignated NY 895)

Now in

East 180th Street Yard along the New York City Subway's IRT White Plains Road Line, which carries the 2 and ​5 services, as well as the former New York, Westchester and Boston Railway.[6] After crossing the yard, wooded surroundings resume as the parkway follows the eastern edge of the Bronx Zoo in the Bronx Park neighborhood and the Bronx River, which gives the road its name, begins to follow it on the west.[7] On the northbound side, as it enters the park, is an unnumbered exit allowing authorized vehicles (like those of people working at the NYC Parks Department) access to local streets via Birchall Avenue.[8]

Bronx River Parkway southbound at exit 10C

A quarter-mile to the north is the main exit for the zoo at Boston Road, with access to

Woodlawn Cemetery,[12] another NHL.[13]

Almost a mile and a half (2.4 km) to the north, the

Woodlawn station is located at the northeast corner of the cemetery next to the East 233rd Street exit.[14] The highway bends left and then right again, crossing the river and the railroad, near the split along the tracks between the Harlem and New Haven lines immediately north of the station. After the curves, the Bronx River Parkway crosses the county line into Westchester County at the McLean Avenue/Nereid Avenue overpass and leaves the Bronx.[15]

Westchester County

Once across the county line the parkway is in

Fleetwood station.[19] A half-mile north of that junction, the parkland and the roadway narrow as Bronxville becomes the community on the opposite side of the Bronx River.[20]

The road then turns sharply to the northwest, away from the Harlem Line, and becomes a four-lane

Crestwood
station as the Harlem Line's tracks begin to parallel the road again. Another three-quarter mile north, after the road has resumed its northeast course, comes the next at-grade exit, Leewood Drive, on the northbound side.

A quarter-mile (500 m) to the north are abandoned parking lots on both sides that were once gas stations. One-tenth of a mile (150 m) to the north, the roadways diverge and the river runs between them. Just beyond this is another at-grade interchange, Strathmore and Harney roads. The roadways remain apart through a wooded section as they curve westward for the next three-quarter mile, returning to the highway's northeastern heading as it leaves Yonkers and briefly enters

train station
, is a northbound exit with southbound entry. Just to its north, southbound traffic can exit onto Greenacres Avenue. The parkway begins heading even more to the northeast, the tracks immediately adjacent, past northbound exits for River and Claremont roads.

Just north of the latter exit, the highway enters

White Plains station on the west side of heavily developed downtown White Plains. It bends north and then northwest to the first of several at-grade intersections with traffic lights, also signed and numbered as exits, with Central Avenue (NY 100), at the Westchester County Center. From here parkway traffic is also directed toward the nearby Cross-Westchester Expressway (I-287
) via NY 119, as the parkway has no direct interchange with it.

The two roadways once again diverge, becoming almost 400 feet (120 m) apart in the half-mile (1 km) before they converge again as they reach the Old Tarrytown Road intersection just north of the expressway. Beyond it the parkway goes due north before curving slightly into the Fisher Lane intersection just west of the last Metro-North station along the parkway,

Kensico Dam is visible in the distance as the parkway reaches its northern terminus at Kensico Circle, southern terminus of the Taconic State Parkway
, also listed on the Register.

A seven-mile (11 km) section of the Bronx River Parkway in Westchester County south of White Plains is closed to motorist traffic from 10 AM to 2 PM select Sundays in May, June, September and October (with the exception of Memorial and Labor Day weekends), allowing bicyclists to venture along the scenic road. Another section north of the one reserved for bicyclists is reserved for inline skating.[21] This program is sponsored by Con Edison and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

History

Southern end of original parkway
Plaque at 211th Street
At 213th Street, looking south
At 213th Street, looking north

Construction began in

freeway standards, utilizing left turns across the opposing direction at access points.[23][24]

The Bronx River Parkway was the first highway to utilize a

median strip to separate the opposing lanes, the first highway constructed through a park, and the first highway where intersecting streets crossed over bridges.[25][26]

The Westchester section of the Bronx River Parkway first opened to traffic in 1922 and was completed in 1925.

New York City borough of the Bronx including an extension south of the former Botanical Gardens/Burke Avenue terminus opened in 1951.[29]
That extension diverges eastward from the river.

From 1953 to 1955, a 2.6-mile (4.2 km) segment of the parkway between Bronxville and the Bronx was closed to straighten and widen the road. During this reconstruction period, a new overpass was also built for the Cross County Parkway.[30][31][32]

In 1957, a half mile stretch of the Parkway between Woodland Viaduct in White Plains and the Scarsdale border was reconstructed to eliminate sharp dips and twists that purportedly provided a "roller coaster-like" effect for drivers.[33]

Late exit modifications

During the 1960s and since then an entrance and exit on the northbound side between current exits 5 and 6 in the Bronx, and an associated U-turn from southbound to northbound, formerly open to general traffic, were reserved for official use by police and the Parks Dept. which maintains an office there. This was around the time other U-turns were being eliminated from various parkways in New York City.

A gas station in the wide median between Bronx exits 7 and 8, north of the pedestrian overpass to the Botanical Garden, was closed due to fire in the early 1980s and has since been razed and the median relandscaped.[34] Of a pair of former gas stations on the outer margins of the roadway in Westchester near Crestwood, the southbound one is currently being used as a Westchester County Police Sub-Station, and the northbound used only as a tourist information stand.[35]

The interchange with the Cross County Parkway did not provide direct access to and from both directions of the latter until extra ramps and an extra overpass were provided beginning in the 1970s. The original interchange is now exit 11W.

In 2009 the northbound exit ramp to Oak Street in Yonkers was replaced by an exit to Yonkers Avenue, a block to the south. From 2012 to 2015, a realignment and bridge replacement project was carried out in Scarsdale.[36]

Truncation and extension

The Bronx River Parkway originally went beyond its northern terminus at Kensico Circle to NY Route 22 northbound. Today, the most obvious route through the circle leads motorists directly to and from the

CR 68. Prior to heightened security measures enacted post-September 11 motorists could take the road that leads towards NY 22 and then drive across the top of the Kensico Dam and eventually re-connect with the Taconic State Parkway.[37]

An extension from the southern terminus in the Bronx into Soundview Park was proposed until the 1970s.[38]

Westchester designation

The southernmost portion of the parkway in Westchester, south of the Sprain, is internally designated as NY 907G, an unsigned

Long Island, regions 10 and 11, share 0; Westchester is region 8 (the Hutchinson River Parkway also shares this oddity). The section south of here is marked only with reference markers, and the section north only with county mileposts. This middle section has county mileposts in the middle, and reference markers with state mileposts (counting from the southern terminus in the Bronx, not the city line) alongside. However, Reference Route 907G is no longer listed in the NYSDOT traffic counts[1] and the entirety of the parkway in the county is considered a county route by Westchester County.[40]

The parkway was documented by the

Historic American Engineering Record in 2001. Drawings and photographs from the documentation project were made available through the Westchester County Archives, winning an award of excellence from the Lower Hudson Conference.[41]

Exit list

CountyLocationmi
[1][42][43][44]		kmExitDestinationsNotes
The BronxSoundview0.000.001Story Avenue – Soundview ParkSouthern terminus
0.2–
0.3		0.32–
0.48		2
RFK Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, Manhattan, New Haven, CT
Signed as exits 2E (east) and 2W (west); no northbound access to I-278 east; no southbound access to Watson Avenue
West Farms0.50.803Westchester AvenueSouthbound exit only
0.861.384
Whitestone Bridge, George Washington Bridge
Access via Rosedale Avenue; exit 4B on I-95
1.11.85
RFK Bridge
Southbound exit only
Bronx Park
2.233.596
 US 1 north (Boston Road) – Bronx Zoo
2.403.867

 US 1 south (Fordham Road) / Pelham Parkway east		Signed as exits 7E (east) and 7W (south); west end of Pelham Parkway
3.074.948
 Mosholu Parkway north / Allerton Avenue east		Signed as exits 8E (east) and 8W (north)
Gun Hill Road
Woodlawn station
WestchesterYonkers5.959.5810CBronx River Road – Yonkers, BronxSouthbound exit and entrance
6.610.610AYonkers Avenue – Yonkers, Mount VernonNorthbound exit and entrance
7.011.310BBronx River Road – YonkersSouthbound exit and entrance
7.28–
7.84		11.72–
12.62		11 Cross County Parkway – Mount Vernon, YonkersSigned as exits 11E (east) and 11W (west); exit 6 on Cross County Parkway
8.4313.57–


 Sprain Brook Parkway north to Taconic State Parkway north		Northbound exit and southbound entrance; southern terminus of Sprain Parkway
Northern end of freeway section
8.513.71ADesmond Avenue – YonkersSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
8.714.01Paxton Avenue – BronxvilleNo southbound exit
8.914.32West Pondfield Road – Bronxville, YonkersNorthbound exit only
9.715.63Elm Street –
Tuckahoe
Northbound exit and entrance
9.9215.964Scarsdale Road –
At-grade intersection
10.116.36Read Avenue –
Crestwood
No entrance ramps
10.416.78Thompson Street –
Crestwood Station
Northbound exit and entrance
10.617.1Vermont Terrace –
Crestwood
Southbound exit and entrance
11.1517.949Leewood Drive –
Crestwood, Eastchester
At-grade intersection except northbound exit
11.8719.1010Harney Road / Strathmore Road – Scarsdale, EastchesterAt-grade intersection
Greenburgh12.620.311Ardsley Road – GreenburghSouthbound exit and entrance
Scarsdale12.8820.7312Crane Road / East Parkway – ScarsdaleAt-grade intersection except northbound exit; no southbound entrance
13.321.413Ogden Road – ScarsdaleNorthbound exit and entrance
13.822.214Butler Road – ScarsdaleNorthbound exit and entrance
14.222.915Fenimore Road / East Hartsdale Avenue – Scarsdale, Hartsdale, GreenburghNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
14.423.216Greenacres Avenue – ScarsdaleSouthbound exit only
15.124.317River Road – ScarsdaleNorthbound entrance only
15.224.518Claremont Road – ScarsdaleNorthbound at-grade intersection
White Plains15.4624.8819Walworth Avenue – White PlainsNorthbound at-grade intersection
16.06–
16.4		25.85–
26.4		21 NY 119 (Main Street) – White PlainsSigned for NY 119 southbound, Main Street northbound; no northbound access to NY 119 west
16.526.622 NY 100 / NY 119 – White PlainsAt-grade intersection
Greenburgh17.227.723Old Tarrytown Road – GreenburghAt-grade intersection; no northbound entrance
17.8428.7124Fisher Lane –
North White Plains, Greenburgh
At-grade intersection
18.129.125Parkway Homes RoadAt-grade intersection
18.3729.5626Virginia Road – Greenburgh, Mount Pleasant, North CastleAt-grade intersection
North Castle18.830.327Lafayette Avenue / Washington Avenue – North CastleNorthbound exit and entrance
18.9430.48– NY 22 / Broadway – North Castle, Kensico Dam PlazaSouthbound access is via Taconic Parkway
–
 Taconic State Parkway north – Albany		Continuation beyond Kensico Circle
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "2014 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. July 22, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  2. ^ "Bronx River Parkway Reservation". Westchester County Department of Parks. 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Bronx River Parkway Exit List (Sound View to Bronxville)". nycroads.com. Eastern Roads, Inc. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Google (September 25, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  5. ^ Google (September 25, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  6. ^ Google (September 25, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  7. ^ a b Google (September 25, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  8. ^ Google (September 25, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  9. ^ "New York Botanical Garden". tps.cr.nps.gov. National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  10. ^ Google (September 25, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  11. ^ "Williams Bridge Metr-North Station". as0.mta.info. Mass Transit Association. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  12. ^ Google (September 25, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  13. ^ "Woodlawn Cemetery". www.thewoodlawncemetery.org. Woodlawn Cemetery. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  14. ^ "Woodlawn". as0.mta.info/. Mass Transit Association. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  15. ^ Google (October 4, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  16. ^ Google (October 4, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  17. ^ Google (October 4, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  18. ^ Google (October 4, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  19. ^ Google (October 4, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  20. ^ Google (October 4, 2014). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  21. ^ "2010 Bronx River Parkway Bicycle Sundays : LIVING FIT Personal Training-Fitness, Nutrition and Weight Loss, Stamford, CT".
  22. ^ "Bronx River Parkway". www.dot.ny.gov. New York Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  23. ^ a b "Long Island (Vanderbilt) Motor Parkway Historic Overview". nycroads.com. Eastern Roads. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  24. ^ "bronx River Parkway Historic Overview". www.nycroads.com. Eastern Roads. Retrieved October 4, 2014.
  25. ^ "Built to Meander, Parkway Fights to Keep Measured Pace". The New York Times. June 6, 1995. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  26. ^ Hershenson, Roberta (June 18, 1995). "Bronx River Parkway On an Endangered List". The New York Times. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  27. ^ "City Opens Bronx Park Way to Traffic". The New York Times. September 17, 1922. p. 14. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  28. ^ "Bronx Parkway Officially Opened". The New York Times. November 6, 1925. p. 26. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  29. ^ "Bronx River Parkway Extension Ready for Motorists Wednesday". The New York Times. January 6, 1951. p. 14. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  30. ^ Folsom, Merrill (January 17, 1953). "Bulldozers Rip Up Parkway's Beauty". The New York Times. p. 17. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  31. ^ "Parkway Segment to Close for Year". The New York Times. January 31, 1953. p. 21. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  32. ^ "Highway Link Reopened". The New York Times. February 19, 1955. p. 15. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
  33. ^ "Highway Thrill Ending; Bronx River Parkway Section to Lose Roller Coaster Aspect". The New York Times. November 4, 1955. p. 32. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  34. ^ Bronx River Parkway Gas Station between Exits 7 and 8, 1966 (Historic Aerials Online)
  35. ^ "Characteristic Road Details (Bronx River Parkway Reservation". Archived from the original on June 8, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2013.
  36. ^ "Crane Road Bridge Project". Westchester County Department of Public Works. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  37. ^ Kensico Dam Plaza, From Top Of Dam. SSW. PH124 (Bronx River Parkway Reservation)
  38. ^ Fowler, Glenn (June 26, 1974). "Planning Unit Introduces Neighborhood 'Miniplans'". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  39. ^ "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.
  40. ^ Westchester County, New York County and State Roads and Parks (PDF) (Map). Westchester County Department of Public Works. February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2009. Retrieved March 18, 2010.
  41. Society for Industrial Archeology Newsletter. 32 (4): 15. Summer–Fall 2003. Archived from the original
    (PDF) on June 26, 2007.
  42. ^ Google (January 14, 2020). "Bronx River Parkway" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  43. ^ "Bronx County Inventory Listing" (CSV). New York State Department of Transportation. August 7, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  44. ^ "Westchester County Inventory Listing" (CSV). New York State Department of Transportation. August 7, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2017.

Further reading

  • Wiederholz, Christian (September 2016). "Hidden Marvel" (PDF). Modern Steel Construction. 56 (9): 32–35. Retrieved October 10, 2016.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bronx River Parkway.
KML file (edit • help)
Template:Attached KML/Bronx River Parkway
KML is from Wikidata
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bronx_River_Parkway&oldid=1220296022"