Henry Hudson Parkway

Henry Hudson Parkway
Route information
Length:	11.05 mi (17.78 km)
Existed:	1937 – present
Major junctions
South end:	NY 9A / West Side Highway in Manhattan
	I-95 in Fort Washington Park US 9 / NY 9A in Riverdale
North end:	Saw Mill River Parkway at the Westchester County line in Van Cortlandt Park
Location
Counties:	New York, Bronx
Highway system
Numbered highways in New York Interstate U.S. N.Y. (former) Reference County

The Henry Hudson Parkway is an 11.05-mile (17.78 km) parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is at West 72nd Street in Manhattan, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. 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 of the parkway is designated New York State Route 907V (NY 907V), an unsigned reference route; however, all but the northernmost mile of the road is also designated as part of the signed NY 9A.

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 1934–1937.

Route description

The Henry Hudson Parkway in Riverdale

The Henry Hudson Parkway begins at an interchange with West 72nd Street in Riverside Park, 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. The junction is numbered as exit 9, 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 Interstate 95 (I-95) 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. 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 further, the parkway becomes the Saw Mill River Parkway as it enters Westchester County.

History

View northward in Riverdale, 1934

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.

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.

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.

Exit list

County	Location	Mile	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
New York	Riverside Park	0.00	0.00		West Side Highway	Continuation beyond 72nd Street
		0.00	0.00	9	West 72nd Street / Riverside Drive	Northbound entrance only; the former northbound exit was permanently closed on July 8, 2007
		0.35	0.56	10	West 79th Street – Boat Basin	Signed as 10A (West 79th Street) and 10B (Boat Basin) northbound; signed as 79th Street southbound
		1.29	2.08		West 95th Street (south) / West 96th Street (north)
		2.47	3.98	12	West 125th Street	Signed as 125th Street northbound
		4.22	6.79	13	West 158th Street
	Fort Tryon Park	4.92	7.92	14	I-95 (Trans-Manhattan Expressway, US 1 / US 9) / West 178th Street	West 178th Street not signed southbound
				15	Riverside Drive	No northbound access to northbound Riverside Drive
					Fort Tryon Park, Cloisters	No southbound access
	Inwood Hill Park	6.78	10.91	17	Dyckman Street
Harlem River		7.75	12.47	Henry Hudson Bridge ($4.00 toll)
Bronx	Spuyten Duyvil			18	Kappock Street	No entrance ramps
				19	West 232nd Street
	Riverdale			20	West 237th Street (south) / West 239th Street (north)
				21	West 246th Street / West 250th Street	No southbound entrance; no southbound access to West 250th Street
		9.64	15.51	22	West 254th Street (south) / West 253rd Street (north) / Riverdale Avenue
		10.05	16.17	23	US 9 (Broadway, NY 9A north)	North end of NY 9A overlap; signed as 23A (south) and 23B (north) northbound
	Van Cortlandt Park	10.62	17.09	24	Mosholu Parkway to I-87 south (Deegan Expressway)	I-87 not signed northbound
		11.05	17.78		Saw Mill River Parkway	Continuation into Westchester County

See also

• New York Roads portal

External links

• Henry Hudson Parkway at Alps' Roads • New York State Highway Termini
• Background on the parkway's history and the scenic byway initiative