Henry Hudson Parkway

Henry Hudson Parkway
Henry Hudson Parkway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT, NYCDOT, and NYC Parks
Length	10.95 mi[2] (17.62 km) 9.93 mi (15.98 km) cosigned with NY 9A
Existed	1937[1]–present
Restrictions	No commercial vehicles
Major junctions
South end	NY 9A (West Side Highway) in Hell's Kitchen
Major intersections	I-95 / US 1 / US 9 in Fort Washington Park US 9 / NY 9A in Riverdale
North end	Saw Mill River Parkway / Mosholu Parkway in Yonkers
Location
Counties	New York, Bronx
Highway system
New York Highways Interstate US State Reference Parkways

The Henry Hudson Parkway is a 10.95-mile (17.62 km) parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway.^[3] It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout its entire course in Manhattan. The northern terminus is at the Bronx–Westchester county boundary, where it continues north as the Saw Mill River Parkway. All but the northernmost mile of the road is co-signed as New York State Route 9A (NY 9A). In addition, the entirety of the parkway is designated New York State Route 907V (NY 907V), an unsigned reference route.^[3]

The owners of the parkway are the New York State Department of Transportation, New York City Department of Transportation, New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Amtrak, and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The Henry Hudson Parkway was created by the Henry Hudson Parkway Authority, which was run by "master builder" Robert Moses. The highway itself was constructed from 1934 to 1937.

Route description[]

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Henry Hudson Parkway in Upper Manhattan, with the George Washington Bridge in the background

The Henry Hudson Parkway in Riverdale

The Henry Hudson Parkway begins at 72nd Street, which also serves as the north end of the West Side Highway and the last remaining section of the West Side Highway's predecessor, the Miller Highway.^[3] The junction is numbered as exit 8, continuing the numbering scheme used on the West Side Highway. It heads northward along the west side of Manhattan, connecting to West 79th Street with a large interchange and to other surface streets with more intermittent exits along the way. The parkway continues in a northerly direction, running almost parallel to Riverside Drive north of West 158th Street. It passes under the Trans-Manhattan Expressway (I-95 and U.S. 1) and the George Washington Bridge as it continues its progression through Fort Washington Park, Fort Tryon Park, and Inwood Hill Park. It then runs northward across the Henry Hudson Bridge into the Bronx.

Upon entering the Bronx, the parkway passes through Spuyten Duyvil and Riverdale as it continues northward, edging slightly to the northeast. Between Exits 20 and 22, Riverdale Avenue is split into service roads along the parkway. At exit 23, NY 9A leaves the parkway for U.S. Route 9 (US 9) while the parkway enters Van Cortlandt Park. Soon after it enters the park, the parkway has an interchange with the Mosholu Parkway, which connects it to I-87. Less than a mile farther on, the parkway becomes the Saw Mill River Parkway as it enters Westchester County.

History[]

View northward in Riverdale, 1934

Beginning of Henry Hudson Parkway near 57th Street

The Parkway was completed on October 12, 1937, under New York master builder Robert Moses. It cost $109 million, twice as expensive as the $49 million Hoover Dam that was built in the same period. The Parkway was part of Moses's "West Side Improvement" and included covering the New York Central Railroad's West Side Line, creating the Freedom Tunnel. The covered portion is partially used for the highway and also expands the Riverside Park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.^[1]

Wikinews has related news: NYC Henry Hudson highway retaining wall collapses

On May 12, 2005, part of a retaining wall at Castle Village collapsed onto the northbound lanes of the parkway, just north of the George Washington Bridge, shutting it down shortly before rush hour. The clean-up began quickly, and the road re-opened on May 15.^[4]

Future[]

The Henry Hudson Parkway is a candidate for designation as a New York State Scenic Byway, the first in New York City. At the request of the Henry Hudson Parkway Task Force, in 2005 the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council approved funding to develop a comprehensive corridor management plan, a requirement for its designation.^[1]

Exit list[]

County	Location	mi [2][5][6]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
Manhattan	Riverside South	0.00	0.00	–	NY 9A south (West Side Highway) – Battery Park	Continuation south
	Riverside Park	0.31	0.50	10	West 79th Street / Boat Basin	Signed as exits 10A (79th Street) and 10B (Boat Basin) northbound; exit number not signed southbound
		1.14	1.83	11	West 95th Street / West 96th Street	All movements via 96th Street except southbound exit; exit number not signed
	Harlem	2.27	3.65	12	West 125th Street	Exit number not signed northbound
	Hamilton Heights	4.07	6.55	13	West 158th Street
	Fort Washington Park	4.72	7.60	14	I-95 / US 1 / US 9 / West 178th Street – George Washington Bridge, Cross Bronx Expressway	Exit 1 on Trans-Manhattan Expressway, Southbound access via Riverside Drive
		4.97	8.00	15	Riverside Drive	No southbound entrance; southbound exit is part of exit 14; no northbound access to Riverside Drive northbound
	Fort Tryon Park	6.4[7]	10.3	16	Fort Tryon Park, Cloisters	Northbound exit and entrance
	Inwood Hill Park	6.76	10.88	17	Dyckman Street
Spuyten Duyvil Creek (Harlem River)		7.38– 7.60	11.88– 12.23	Henry Hudson Bridge ($7.00 Toll-by-Mail, $2.80 E-ZPass)
The Bronx	Spuyten Duyvil	7.84	12.62	18	Kappock Street	No entrance ramps
		8.2[7]	13.2	19	West 232nd Street
	Riverdale	8.6[7]	13.8	20	West 237th Street / West 239th Street	Signed for 237th Street southbound, 239th Street northbound
		9.0[7]	14.5	21	West 246th Street	No southbound entrance
		9.46	15.22	22	West 253rd Street / West 254th Street / Riverdale Avenue	Signed for 253rd Street northbound, 254th Street southbound
	Fieldston	9.93	15.98	23	US 9 / NY 9A north (Broadway)	Northern terminus of NY 9A concurrency; signed as exits 23A (south) and 23B (north) northbound
	Van Cortlandt Park	10.45	16.82	24	Mosholu Parkway south to I-87 south (Major Deegan Expressway)	I-87 not signed northbound
		10.95	17.62	–	Saw Mill River Parkway north – Yonkers	Continuation into Westchester County
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

See also[]

•  U.S. Roads portal
•  New York City portal
•  New York (state) portal

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Henry Hudson Parkway.

• Henry Hudson Parkway at Alps' Roads
• Background on the parkway's history and the scenic byway initiative
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. NY-334, "Henry Hudson Parkway, Extending 11.2 miles from West 72nd Street to Bronx-Westchester border, New York, New York County, NY", 94 photos, 220 data pages, 9 photo caption pages