Trans-Manhattan Expressway
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| Route information | |
| Maintained by NYSDOT | |
| Length: | 1.38 mi[1] (2.22 km) |
| Existed: | 1962 – present |
| Major junctions | |
| West end: |    I-95 / US 1 / US 9 at George Washington Bridge |
  NY 9A / Henry Hudson Parkway Harlem River Drive |
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| East end: | I-95 / US 1 at Alexander Hamilton Bridge |
| Location | |
| Counties: | New York |
| Highway system | |
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Main route of the Interstate Highway System Numbered highways in New York |
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The Trans-Manhattan Expressway or George Washington Bridge Expressway[2] is a highway in New York City that is part of the Interstate Highway System. Though few of the millions who use it or live near it have ever heard the name, it is probably one of the shortest, busiest, and most congested named highways. It passes for barely a single mile across Manhattan at one of its narrowest points, crossing in a depressed channel through the Washington Heights neighborhood, connecting the George Washington Bridge with the Cross Bronx Expressway by way of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge as it crosses the Harlem River. The expressway is designated as a portion of Interstate 95 (I-95) and is often considered to be part of the Cross Bronx Expressway.
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[edit] Route description
The Trans-Manhattan Expressway begins as part of I-95, U.S. Route 1 or US 1, and US 9 at the eastern approach to the George Washington Bridge. It initally heads eastward across Fort Washington Park, connecting with the Henry Hudson Parkway (New York State Route 9A or NY 9A) at an interchange on the park's eastern edge. The route continues on, crossing the Manhattan neighborhood of Washington Heights in a cut flanked by 178th Street to the south and 179th Street to the north. Roughly midway across Manhattan, US 9 leaves the freeway to follow Broadway northward toward the Bronx and Westchester County. Proceeding eastward, the road connects to Harlem River Drive and the Washington Bridge (carrying 181st Street over the Harlem River) before cutting across Highbridge Park and ultimately crossing into the Bronx by way of the Alexander Hamilton Bridge. The highway officially becomes the Cross Bronx Expressway at the borough line.
[edit] History
The highway was originally planned as an open cut between 178th and 179th Streets, traversed by bridges carrying the major north–south avenues in upper Manhattan. The City of New York approved the creation of the highway in June 1957 as part of a joint effort with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey that also called for the creation of the lower deck on the George Washington Bridge and construction of the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal above the cut for the Expressway.[3]
The 12-lane Trans-Manhattan Expressway, with three lanes of traffic heading in each direction to and from each deck of the George Washington Bridge, opened to traffic in 1962 as part of a $60 million program to improve access roads for the George Washington Bridge, whose lower deck opened that same year.[4] The Trans-Manhattan Expressway provides access to and from the Henry Hudson Parkway and Riverside Drive on the West Side of Manhattan, and to Amsterdam Avenue and the Harlem River Drive on the East Side.
The expressway was one of the first to use air rights over a major highway. After completion of the expressway, the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal and a series of four high-rise apartment buildings were built over the expressway. Local traffic reporters frequently refer to congestion "under the Apartments" during morning and evening rush hours.
On the east end at Amsterdam Avenue, portals to tunnels under 178th and 179th Streets (on each side of the expressway) still exist; the expressway replaced them.[5]
[edit] Exit list
The entire route is in Manhattan.
| Location | Mile[1] | Old exit | New exit | Destinations | Notes |
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| Hudson River | 0.00 |   I-95 / US 1-9 / US 46 |
George Washington Bridge; continuation into New Jersey | ||
| Washington Heights | 0.55 | 1A | 1 | NY 9A (Henry Hudson Parkway) / West 178th Street (US 9 north) / West 181st Street |
North end of US 9 overlap |
| 1.16 | 1B | 2 |  Harlem River Drive to FDR Drive – Manhattan |
Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
| East River | 1.38 | I-95 / US 1 (Cross Bronx Expressway) |
Alexander Hamilton Bridge; continuation into the Bronx | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
[edit] References
- ^ a b "2007 Traffic Data Report for New York State" (PDF). New York State Department of Transportation. July 25, 2008. https://www.dot.ny.gov/divisions/engineering/technical-services/hds-respository/Traffic%20Data%20Report%202007.pdf. Retrieved July 17, 2009.
- ^ Ingraham, Joseph C. (January 1, 1961). "Around the Town: New York City's System of Bypasses is Beginning to Take Shape". The New York Times: p. X17. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50F14FE3E591B7A93C3A9178AD85F458685F9. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ Bennett, Charles G. (June 14, 1957). "CITY VOTES CHANGE IN HUDSON BRIDGE; Port Agency Gets Go-Ahead for $183,000,000 Work on George Washington Span BRIDGE CHANGES APPROVED BY CITY". The New York Times: p. 1. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30B11F9395A177B93C6A8178DD85F438585F9. Retrieved December 3, 2008.
- ^ Ingraham, Joseph C. (August 30, 1962). "Lower Deck of George Washington Bridge Is Opened". The New York Times: p. 1. http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40C16FC3A58137A93C2AA1783D85F468685F9. Retrieved April 4, 2010.
- ^ Anderson, Steve. "Trans-Manhattan Expressway (I-95, US 1 and US 9)". NYCRoads. http://www.nycroads.com/roads/trans-manhattan. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
[edit] External links
- Trans-Manhattan Expressway is at coordinates 40°50′54″N 73°56′12″W / 40.848397°N 73.936714°WCoordinates: 40°50′54″N 73°56′12″W / 40.848397°N 73.936714°W
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