Everything about The Cross Bronx Expressway totally explained
The
Cross Bronx Expressway is a major expressway (
freeway) in the
New York City borough of
the Bronx. It helps carry traffic on
Interstate 95 through the city, and serves as a portion of
Interstate 295 towards
Long Island; a portion is also designated
U.S. Route 1. The Cross Bronx begins at the
Alexander Hamilton Bridge over the
Harlem River, where the
Trans-Manhattan Expressway continues west across
Upper Manhattan to the
George Washington Bridge. While I-95 leaves at the
Bruckner Interchange in
Throgs Neck, following the
Bruckner Expressway and
New England Thruway to
Connecticut, the Cross Bronx Expressway Extension continues east, carrying I-295 to the merge with the
Throgs Neck Expressway near the
Throgs Neck Bridge.
Route description
The Cross Bronx Expressway begins at the eastern end of the
Alexander Hamilton Bridge as a continuation of the
Trans-Manhattan Expressway and officially designated as both
I-95 and
US 1. Immediately after coming off the bridge, there's an interchange with the
Major Deegan Expressway (
I-87) for
Yankee Stadium and points upstate. The highway soon intersects with
Webster Avenue at a partial interchange allowing eastbound vehicles to exit and westbound ones to enter. Northbound
US 1 leaves the Cross Bronx Expressway at this exit. About one and half miles later, comes a pair of closely-spaced interchanges for the
Sheridan Expressway (I-895) and the
Bronx River Parkway. The exit for the Sheridan Expressway is an incomplete interchange and allows access from northbound and to southbound I-95 only.
The Cross Bronx Expressway reaches the
Bruckner Interchange two miles later. Going eastbound (I-95 northbound), the interchange allows access to southbound
I-678, northbound I-95 (
Bruckner Expressway) and southbound
I-295. I-95 leaves the Cross Bronx Expressway here and continues north along the Bruckner Expressway. The Cross Bronx Expressway continues east of the interchange as I-295, which begins here. The Cross Bronx ends later at the
Throgs Neck Expressway, where traffic from
Interstate 695 merges on towards the
Throgs Neck Bridge.
History
The 1929
Report on Highway Traffic Conditions and Proposed Traffic Relief Measures for the City of New York was the first citywide traffic study, classifying a number of projects that had been proposed by local interests. A "Cross-Bronx Route" along 161st and 163rd Streets was one of two proposed facilities, along with the "Nassau Boulevard" (which became the
Long Island Expressway), to be picked by borough engineers as examples of important projects. Although this routing was south of the present Cross Bronx Expressway, the report did suggest a "New Cross-Bronx Artery" near the present expressway that would link the
Washington Bridge with the
Clason Point Ferry to
Queens. Though it wouldn't be built to
freeway standards, it would be 60 feet (20 m) wide with
grade separations "where considered necessary and desirable". The under-construction
George Washington Bridge was cited as one of the reasons to build the highway, which would help connect
New Jersey to
Long Island via the bridges and ferry.
The
New York City Planning Commission adopted a plan in late 1940 for a network of highways. Except for the
Bronx and Pelham Parkway, which lay to the north, no cross-Bronx highway had been built. The report stated that the "Bronx Crosstown Highway", which would now connect on the east end to the
Bronx-Whitestone Bridge (which had replaced the Clason Point Ferry), was "an essential part of a desirable highway pattern", taking traffic from the George Washington Bridge to Long Island and
New England. The cost was estimated at $17,000,000, higher than most improvements because of the "
topographical conditions, high
land values, and
heavily built-up areas".
The first portion, from the
Bronx River Parkway east to the
Bruckner Interchange, opened on
November 5,
1955, at the same time as parts of the
Queens Midtown and
Major Deegan Expressways. When the
Throgs Neck Bridge opened on
January 11,
1961, the Cross Bronx was extended east as one of its two northern approaches. (The extension was part of
I-78 until 1970, when it became
I-295, its current designation.) A one-mile (1.5 km) western extension to a temporary interchange with Boston Road opened on
April 23,
1956, and on
April 27,
1960, another 1.2-mile (2 km) piece opened, taking the road west to Webster Avenue. The short 0.6-mile (1 km) piece from Webster Avenue west to Jerome Avenue opened on
February 10,
1961. With the opening of the
Alexander Hamilton Bridge in April 1963, the $128 million Cross Bronx was completed. This was, however, not the end of construction; the $12.6 million Highbridge Interchange with the
Major Deegan Expressway (
I-87) opened in November 1964, and a $68 million reconstruction of the
Bruckner Interchange, allowing
Bruckner Expressway (
I-95/
I-278) traffic to bypass the old
traffic circle, opened on
January 2,
1972. (Cross Bronx traffic passing through to the Throgs Neck Bridge had been able to avoid the circle, but drivers taking the Bruckner in either direction, including those bound for
New England, had to exit onto the surface.)
In 1936, the
Regional Plan Association (RPA) proposed a Cross Bronx highway which would connect the
George Washington,
Triborough, and
Bronx-Whitestone Bridges, as well as access to points north to New England. Five years later, the New York City Planning Planning Department recommended construction of the "Bronx Crosstown Highway."
Robert Moses proposed a six-lane expressway to run through the heart of the
South Bronx in 1945. This project proved to be one of the most difficult expressway projects of the time: construction required blasting through ridges, crossing valleys and redirecting rivers. In doing so, minimal disruption to the apartment buildings that topped the ridges in the area of Grand Concourse was a priority. Moreover, the expressway had to cross 113 streets, seven expressways and parkways (some of which were under construction), one subway line, five elevated lines, three commuter rail lines, and hundreds of utility, water and sewer lines, none of which could be interrupted.
Construction began in 1948. The roadway was carefully constructed with twelve-foot wide lanes and ten foot wide cobblestone shoulders. In 1963, the last of the three sections of roadway between the Alexander Hamilton and Throgs Neck Bridges were finished, completing the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Many have blamed the Cross Bronx Expressway for worsening the decay of already-embattled neighborhoods in the
South Bronx, with the prominent example being the neighborhood of
Tremont. In
Robert Caro's
The Power Broker, the author argues that Moses intentionally directed the expressway through this neighborhood, even though there was a more viable option only one block south. Many of the neighborhoods it runs through have been continually poor since before its construction, primarily due to the lowered property value caused by the Expressway. This is partially to blame for the public opposition to many other planned expressways in
New York City that were later cancelled. The Cross Bronx Expressway was an engineering marvel for its time, for it was the first highway to plow through a crowded urban environment. The Expressway was designed by the famed WWII General who also engineered the
Burma Road, but in regards to the expressway was quoted as "The [Burma] Road was tough. But that was nothing compared to this son of a bitch". The most expensive mile of road ever built is part of the Cross Bronx, costing $40,000,000. At one point during construction, Moses' team had supported the Grand Concourse while the Expressway was being rammed through. In the process, crews had to elevate a major thoroughfare, a subway line and an El train.
The expressway is one of the main routes for shipping and transportation through New York City due to its connections with
New Jersey via the
George Washington Bridge,
Long Island via the
Throgs Neck and
Whitestone Bridges, Upstate
New York via
Interstate 87 northbound and the
Bronx River Parkway, Manhattan via
Interstate 87 southbound to the
Triborough Bridge, and
New England via the
New England Thruway (
Interstate 95) and the
Hutchinson River Parkway.
However, the expressway is known for its extreme traffic problems; on a typical day 145,000 vehicles travel on the six lanes of highway the road contains, and it isn't uncommon for truckers to use the
Cross-Westchester Expressway to the
Major Deegan Expressway to get around this stretch of
I-95. Proposals have been made to add a second deck to the road, although to no avail.
(Source: NYC Roads
)
Exit list
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cross Bronx Expressway'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://cross_bronx_expressway.totallyexplained.com">Cross Bronx Expressway Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
