Henry Hudson Bridge and Jackie Robinson Parkway, New York
Henry Hudson Bridge
| Henry Hudson Bridge | |
| Spans | Harlem River |
| Lanes | 2×3 |
| Total length | 673 meters |
| Main span | 256 meters |
| Bridge deck height | 44 meters |
| Opening | 12-12-1936 |
| Traffic intensity | 68,800 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
According to indexdotcom, the Henry Hudson Bridge is a double-deck arch bridge in the United States, located in New York City.
Characteristics
The Henry Hudson Bridge is a steel arch bridge with an elevated deck. The arch is completely under the bridge deck. The bridge is double-decked and has a total length of 673 meters, with a main span of 256 meters. The bridge deck is 44 meters above the water. The bridge spans the Harlem River, also known locally as the Spuyten Duyvil Creek, and connects Manhattan and the Bronx.
Crossing the bridge is the Henry Hudson Parkway, a highway along Manhattan’s west side, and a vital link to Manhattan from the Bronx and the northern suburbs. The Henry Hudson Parkway empties a few miles north of the bridge onto the Saw Mill River Parkway that opens up Yonkers. To the south one crosses Interstate 95 in the form of the Trans Manhattan Expressway and the George Washington Bridge. The bridge has 2×3 lanes, 3 lanes below and 3 lanes above, with the right lane on the top deck dropping to the Kappock Street exit.
History
The bridge was constructed by Robert Moses between June 1935 and December 1938 as part of the Henry Hudson Parkway. The bridge was opened to traffic on December 12, 1938, initially with one deck. It was already planned at the time to build a second deck on top, which was realized shortly afterwards and opened on May 7, 1938. The bridge originally had 7 lanes, later this was reduced to 3 lanes in each direction.
When it opened, it was the longest bridge of its type in the world. In addition to the bridge, a railway bridge was built earlier in 1899 that connects Intercity trains to Albany. The Spuyten Duyvil train station is located under the bridge. At 44 meters above the water, the Henry Hudson Bridge is much higher than the railway bridge, which is only 5 meters above the water.
Renovation
In 1998 the lower deck of the bridge was replaced during major maintenance. Between 2000 and 2005, the bridge was renovated for $50 million. After this, the lower deck was replaced between 2007 and 2010 for $84 million. The renovation of the bridge continued until 2013.
Toll
The bridge is a toll road, managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The toll is fully electronic with an E-ZPass or registration toll. It was the MTA’s first cashless connection in November 2012, although there were still some toll gates until December 2016.
Traffic intensities
Every day, 68,800 vehicles use the bridge.
Jackie Robinson Parkway
| Reference Route 908B | |||
| Get started | New York | ||
| End | New York | ||
| Length | 5 mi | ||
| Length | 8 km | ||
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The Jackie Robinson Parkway is a parkway in the American city of New York. The highway runs from Jamaica Avenue to Interstate 678, between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens. Until 1997, the road was called the Interboro Parkway. The highway is winding, narrow and dangerous. The whole road is 8 kilometers long.
Travel directions
The Jackie Robinson Parkway at Queens Boulevard.
The highway begins at a major intersection with Jamaica Avenue, Bushwick Avenue, and Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn. One passes through the Evergreens cemetery, and almost immediately enters Queens, the highway section in Brooklyn is barely half a kilometer long. There are 2×2 lanes available. After driving a few kilometers through the cemetery, the road gets very winding, and accidents often happen. In the Kew Gardens neighborhood, the highway is sunken, ending here at Grand Central Parkway and Interstate 678.
History
Aptitude
Like the eastern portion of the Grand Central Parkway, the Jackie Robinson Parkway had to follow the contours of the hills on Long Island, following the parkway vibe of the 1920s. Construction of the highway began in 1933 and opened in June 1935 between the Metropolitan Avenue and the Grand Central Parkway at Kew Gardens, and three months later to Pennsylvania Avenue. The same year, the Grand Central Parkway was also opened, providing a through connection between Brooklyn and Long Island. The highway was constructed according to outdated design requirements, had narrow lanes, no emergency lanes and barely any slip roads.
Later developments
As early as 1941, the New York City Planning Department found the Jackie Robinson Parkway unsafe, with its sharp bends and poor design standards. However, a realignment of the highway was impossible due to the surrounding cemeteries and the urban character of Queens at the time. In 1987 the highway was thoroughly overhauled, the connections were improved, as well as the central reservation and lighting. In 1992 the project was completed and 2×2 lanes were left. Despite this, the highway is still very substandard. On April 14, 1997, the highway was renamed from Interboro Parkway to Jackie Robinson Parkway, a New York baseball player.
Brooklyn
In 1963, Robert Moses proposed a four-mile extension westward through Brooklyn with a completion date of 1976. However, Moses lost power in the late 1960s, and the plan was never carried out.
Road number shield
The road number shield was originally the usual green shield of New York State parkways. In 2018, a new road number shield with the outline of Jackie Robinson as a baseball player was placed.
Traffic intensities
70,000 vehicles drive on the Parkway daily, increasing to 97,000 vehicles in Kew Gardens in Queens. That is a lot of traffic for 2×2 lanes.
| Exit | Location | 2008 | 2015 |
| 1 | Jamaica Avenue | 70,000 | 70,700 |
| 3 | Cypress Hills Street | 62,000 | 87,800 |
| 6 | Metropolitan Avenue | 94,000 | 80,700 |
| 7 | Grand Central Parkway | 80,000 | 80,700 |
Lane Configuration
| From | Unpleasant | Lanes |
| exit 0 | exit 8 | 2×2 |