Cross County Parkway, New York

Cross County Parkway

According to transporthint, the Cross County Parkway is a parkway in the U.S. state of New York. The highway forms an east-west connection in Yonkers, just north of New York City. The highway is 7 kilometers long.

Travel directions

The highway begins in Yonkers, at the Saw Mill River Parkway. There are 2×2 lanes available. After only two kilometers you cross the Interstate 87, which runs from New York to Montreal. Shortly thereafter, it crosses the Bronx River Parkway. After that, 2×3 lanes will be available. The highway ends at the Hutchinson River Parkway in the suburb of Mount Vernon.

History

In the 1920s, a parkway system was planned in Westchester County, including a series of east-west routes. Construction of the Cross County Parkway began in 1929. In 1932, the entire highway opened with 2×2 lanes without a center divider. A central fence was built in 1947. In 1964, a 4- to 10-lane widening began between Interstate 87 and Gramatan Avenue in Yonkers. The project was completed in 1978, after 14 years of construction on this 2 kilometer highway. There was a lack of money and opposition from local residents significantly delayed the project.

An eastern extension to Mamaroneck had been planned since the 1920s. However, construction was delayed by the Great Depression and the Second World War. In 1966 another study was published that was for the construction of the highway, but in the early 1970s the plan was finally shelved.

Traffic intensities

The highway is busy, with between 66,000 and 146,000 vehicles per day.

Lane Configuration

Cross Bronx Expressway

According to travelationary, the Cross Bronx Expressway is part of Interstate 95 in New York that runs through the south of the Bronx borough. The highway is an east-west route that handles a lot of through traffic in the region. The Cross Bronx Expressway is seven miles long.

Travel directions

The Cross Bronx Expressway begins at the Alexander Hamilton Bridge over the Harlem River, where the Trans Manhattan Expressway ends. Immediately follows a tight interchange with Interstate 87, the highway to Yonkers, Albany and Montréal. The highway has 2×3 lanes and is largely sunken. One crosses the Grand Concourse, but there is no connection with it due to lack of space. At Webster Avenue, US 1 turns off to follow a separate route through the Bronx. In the West Farms neighborhood, the very short Sheridan Expressway, Interstate 895, ends at the Cross Bronx Expressway. Immediately afterwards follows the nodewith the Bronx River Parkway, a north-south route opening up the center of the Bronx. Since the Cross Bronx Expressway is largely sunken, there are sometimes longer tunnels under wide streets. The Cross Bronx Expressway then becomes the New England Thruway at Interstate 287, continuing toward Connecticut. Interstate 295, Interstate 678, and the Hutchinson River Parkway also exit here.

History

The Cross Bronx Expressway.

As early as 1929, studies were conducted into a rapid route through the Bronx. An 18 meter wide boulevard with grade separated crossings where necessary. The George Washington Bridge, which was under construction at the time, was seen as a major trigger for the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway. In 1940, the road was included in a plan by the city government, as there was no continuous highway in the Bronx except the Bronx and Pelham Parkway. In 1945 master planner Robert Mosesa highway with 2×3 lanes in front. It turned out to be one of the most difficult highways to build, due to its already high urbanity, ridges, intersections of 113 streets, seven expressways and parkways, one subway line, five elevated subway lines, three commuter tracks, and countless energy and sewage utilities. Construction began in 1948. The highway was fitted with 3.6-metre-wide lanes and 3-metre-wide emergency lanes fitted with clinker bricks. In 1963, the last section of the highway was completed, completing the Cross Bronx Expressway. The first section opened in 1955 at the same time as I-87. In 1964 another interchange opened with I-87. The Bruckner Interchange opened in 1972, so that all relationships could be settled on a split-level basis.

Some accuse the highway of fueling the decline of the southern Bronx neighborhoods. It was a marvel in civil engineering at the time, as it was the first highway to be built through heavily urbanized areas. However, the highway was necessary to keep the region running due to the rapid prosperity and population growth outside the Bronx.

Traffic intensities

The highway is extremely busy and congested all day long. The intensities are between 118,000 and 186,000 vehicles on the 2×3 lanes. From the north, the highway can be bypassed by using the Hutchinson River Parkway, Cross County Parkway, and Interstate 87.