Palisades Interstate Parkway

Palisades Interstate Parkway Map of the New York City area with the Palisades Interstate Parkway highlighted in red Route information Maintained by NJDOT and NYSDOT Length: 38.25 mi (61.56 km) Existed: 1958 – present Major junctions South end: I-95 / US 1-9 / US 46 in Fort Lee, NJ   US 9W / Route 67 in Fort Lee, NJ I-87 / I-287 / Thruway in Nanuet, NY US 202 in Mount Ivy, NY US 6 in Bear Mountain State Park, NY North end: US 6 / US 9W / US 202 in Ft. Montgomery, NY Location Counties: Bergen (NJ); Rockland, Orange (NY) Highway system New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate and US Numbered highways in New York Interstate • U.S. • N.Y. (former) • Reference • County ← Route 444 Route 445 Route 446 → Palisade [sic] Interstate Parkway U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. Historic district New Jersey Register of Historic Places Coordinates: 41°4′37.2″N 73°59′2.4″W NRHP Reference#: 99000940 NJRHP #: 102 Significant dates Added to NRHP: August 2, 1999 Designated NJRHP: October 3, 1999

The Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) is a 38.25-mile (61.56 km) long limited-access highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in New Jersey. The southern terminus of the route is at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where it connects to Interstate 95 (I-95), U.S. Route 1–9 (US 1–9), US 46 and Route 4. Its northern terminus is at a traffic circle in Fort Montgomery, New York, where the PIP meets US 9W and US 202 at the Bear Mountain Bridge. At exit 18, the PIP forms a concurrency with US 6 for the duration of its run.

The route is named for the New Jersey Palisades, a line of cliffs rising along the western side of the Hudson River. The PIP is designated, but not signed as Route 445 in New Jersey and New York State Route 987C (NY 987C), an unsigned reference route, in New York. As with most parkways in the New York metropolitan area, commercial traffic is prohibited from using the PIP. The Palisades Interstate Parkway was built from 1947–1958, and fully opened to traffic on August 28, 1958.

Route description

The main line of the parkway is designated as Route 445 in New Jersey and NY 987C in New York. The latter is one of New York's reference routes. A 0.42-mile (0.68 km) spur connecting the parkway to US 9W in Fort Lee, New Jersey, is designated Route 445S. All three designations are unsigned and used only for inventory purposes. The parkway is owned by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission but maintained by the New Jersey and New York departments of transportation.

New Jersey

The Palisades Interstate Parkway begins at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee. Passengers from the upper level of the GWB can directly get on the PIP northbound. Passengers from the lower level of the bridge must travel through GWB Plaza on US 9W, before getting on the PIP. Passengers riding northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) must be in local lanes to directly get on the PIP. Once the PIP leaves the GWB, it proceeds north along the New Jersey Palisades, breezing by the Englewood Cliffs Service Area. Unlike service areas further north along the parkway, there are two in Englewood, one for northbound drivers and one for southbound drivers. The others are in the center median shared by drivers going in both directions. There are also three different scenic lookout points over the Palisades about where Manhattan Island begins at the Harlem River. After this, the PIP parallels US 9W and the Hudson River for its entire run in New Jersey. In fact, all four exits in New Jersey are either with US 9W, or within mere feet of the route. The PIP leaves New Jersey into New York in the borough of Rockleigh.

Welcome to the PIP sign posted at its northern terminus in Orange County

The entire New Jersey portion of the Palisades Interstate Parkway is within Bergen County. It is designated as a state scenic byway known as the Palisades Interstate Parkway Scenic Byway. The PIP and the New Jersey Turnpike are the only highways that use sequential exit numbering in New Jersey; all others in the state are based on mileage, except for the Atlantic City – Brigantine Connector in Atlantic City, which uses lettered exits (no numerals).

New York

Rockland County

The Palisades enters Rockland County in the hamlet of Palisades. At about the border the PIP changes direction from due north along the Hudson River to a north-west direction. Shortly after the Kings Ferry Service Area in the center median, the first two exits in New York are key exits for two colleges in Rockland County. Exit 5 provides a link to St. Thomas Aquinas College, and exit 6 provides a link to Dominican College. In West Nyack, the PIP has a key interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-87 and I-287). This intersection is about two miles (3 km) west of the Tappan Zee Bridge. After the PIP's interchange with the NY Thruway, the PIP turns slightly north-east and its speed limit increases to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). From the GWB to the NY Thruway it is exclusively 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). At exit 13, the PIP intersects US 202 as the route crosses south of Harriman State Park in Mount Ivy. This is the first of two meetings between the PIP and US 202. At exit 15, the PIP has its last busy intersection in Rockland County with County Route 106 (CR 106, formerly part of NY 210) in Stony Point. From here, the PIP enters Harriman State Park, and at exit 16, the PIP intersects Lake Welch Parkway, which is one of several parkways commissioned within the park.

Orange County

The Palisades enters Orange County north of Lake Welch Parkway at exit 16 and south of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission Visitor Center, located in the center median in what was originally a parkway service area. The first interchange in Orange County is exit 17 at Anthony Wayne Recreation Area. At exit 18, the PIP intersects US 6 and Seven Lakes Drive. US 6 west heads toward the Thruway and NY 17 five miles (8 km) west in Harriman. US 6 east forms a concurrency with the PIP for the last two miles (3 km) of the PIP's run. Seven Lakes Drive joins the two routes for one mile (1.6 km) before departing at exit 19. The two routes then enter Bear Mountain State Park in an eastern direction. Finally, the Palisades Interstate Parkway meets its end at US 9W and US 202 at a traffic circle inches from the Hudson River and the Bear Mountain Bridge. US 6 and US 202 head east over the bridge, while US 9W heads north toward the United States Military Academy in West Point.

History

In 1933–34, the first thoughts of a Palisades Interstate Parkway were developed by William A. Welch. The plan was to build a parkway to connect the New Jersey Palisades with the state parks along the Hudson River in Rockland and Orange Counties. Welch would soon garner the support of John D. Rockefeller, who donated 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land along the New Jersey Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. With this favorable momentum for the new route, the proposed route was accepted as a Civil Works Administration project under Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition. However, the New Jersey Highway Commission did not support construction, so the idea of a parkway was put on hold.

The parkway's northern terminus in Fort Montgomery, NY

During the 1940s, Rockefeller renewed the push for a parkway along the New Jersey Palisades, and teamed with ultimate PIP planner, Robert Moses, to establish and design the parkway. The plan originally was to have the PIP stretch from the Garden State Parkway, along the Hudson River, to the George Washington Bridge, and then north along its present-day route ending at the Bear Mountain Bridge. This southern extension was never built, but construction began on the current PIP in New York on April 1, 1947. Construction on the New Jersey portion began about one year later.

Construction was delayed twice due to material shortages, but that did not stop the PIP from being opened in stages during the 1940s and 1950s. The route was completed in New Jersey in 1957, and on August 28, 1958, the final piece of the PIP was completed between exits 5 and 9 in southern Rockland County.

Shortly after completion of the PIP, the parkway's interchange with US 6 was upgraded to include what is known as Queensboro Circle. Queensburo Circle is located just off of exit 18 of the PIP. The exiting driver must proceed to this one of many traffic-circles within Bear Mountain State Park and Harriman State Park before getting off on US 6's Long Mountain Spur or Seven Lakes Drive. In the early days of the parkway, the PIP originally had posted speed limits of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), but now are posted between 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) with additional lanes added in higher traveled areas.

The PIP is well known for its stone arch overpasses throughout its route and its several scenic overlooks in New Jersey. All sorts of unique trees and flowers, can be seen along the route as well. In 1998, because of all the natural and constructed beauty, the PIP was designated as a national landmark by the National Park Service.

Future

The Palisades Interstate Parkway can be reached from the George Washington Bridge only from the bridge's upper level. Those traveling on the lower level must take the exit for US 9W, and travel through northern Fort Lee to reach the PIP. The Port Authority plans to construct ramps to directly connect the lower level to the PIP. Originally, this was to take place anywhere between 2005 and 2009, but has been postponed with no future date scheduled as of now.

Exit list

State	County	Location	Mile	Exit	Destinations	Notes
New Jersey	Bergen	Fort Lee	0.00		I-95 north / US 1-9 north (George Washington Bridge) – Long Island, New England	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
			0.18	George Washington Bridge toll plaza (southbound)
					Myrtle Avenue	Southbound exit and entrance
			0.31		US 9W south / Route 67 south (NJ 445S)	Fort Lee Spur; southbound exit and northbound entrance; to I-95 (New Jersey Turnpike) south and US 1/9 south
		Englewood Cliffs	1.89	1	CR 505 (Palisade Avenue) – Englewood Boat Basin
		Alpine	7.48	2	US 9W (Palisades Boulevard) to CR 502 (Closter Dock Road)
			9.29	3	US 9W (Palisades Boulevard)
			10.34	4	US 9W (Highland Avenue)
			11.06 0.00	New Jersey – New York state line
New York	Rockland	Tappan	2.57	5	NY 303 (Commonwealth Avenue) – Orangeburg, Tappan	Signed as 5N (north) and 5S (south)
		Orangeburg	3.50	6	CR 20 (Orangeburg Road) – Orangeburg, Pearl River	Signed as 6E (east) and 6W (west)
		Orangetown–Clarkstown town line	6.40	7	CR 42 (Town Line Road) – Nanuet
		Clarkstown	7.13	8	NY 59 (Nyack Turnpike) – West Nyack, Nyack, Spring Valley, Suffern	Signed as 8E (east) and 8W (west)
			7.91	9	I-87 / I-287 / Thruway – New York City, Albany	Signed as 9E (east) and 9W (west)
			9.50	10	CR 33 (North Middletown Road) – New City, Nanuet
		New Hempstead	11.62	11	CR 80 (New Hempstead Road) – New City, New Square
		Pomona	13.30	12	NY 45 (Main Street) – Pomona, New Square
		Ramapo–Haverstraw town line	14.32	13	US 202 (Mount Ivy Road) – Haverstraw, Suffern
		Stony Point	16.71	14	CR 98 (Willow Grove Road) – Letchworth Village
			17.92	15	CR 106 (Stony Point Road) – Stony Point, Lake Kanawauke	Former routing of NY 210; passenger cars only north of this point
			19.05	16	Lake Welch Parkway to Tiorati Brook Road	No northbound entrance
	Orange	Highlands			Palisades Interstate Park Commission Visitor Center	Left exit; former service area
			23.50	17	Anthony Wayne Recreation Area
			24.37	18	US 6 west (Long Mountain Parkway) / Seven Lakes Drive west	US 6 and Seven Lakes Drive join eastbound and leave westbound
			24.57	19	Seven Lakes Drive east to Perkins Memorial Drive	Seven Lakes Drive leaves eastbound and joins westbound
			26.77	20	US 6 east / US 9W / US 202 – Stony Point, Peekskill, Newburgh	Traffic circle; US 6 leaves eastbound and joins westbound
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

• U.S. Roads portal
• New Jersey portal
• New York Roads portal
• Hudson Valley portal

Further reading

• Myles, William J. (1999). Harriman Trails, A Guide and History. New York, NY: The New York – New Jersey Trail Conference. 

External links

• Palisades Interstate Parkway
• an enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the Fort Lee approaches to the George Washington Bridge
• Google maps satellite image of the southern end of the Parkway