 Harlem River Drive | |
|---|---|
| 369th Harlem Hellfighters Drive | |
 Harlem River Drive highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained byNYSDOT | |
| Length | 4.20 mi[1][2] (6.76 km) |
| Existed | 1964[citation needed]–present |
| Restrictions | No commercial vehicles |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |  FDR Drive /RFK Bridge inEast Harlem |
| Major intersections |   I-95 /US 1 inHighbridge Park |
| North end | Dyckman Street /10th Avenue inInwood |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Counties | New York |
| Highway system | |
Harlem River Drive is a 4.20-mile (6.76 km)controlled-accessparkway in theNew York City borough ofManhattan. It runs along the west bank of theHarlem River from theTriborough Bridge inEast Harlem to10th Avenue inInwood, where the parkway ends and the road continues northwest asDyckman Street. South of the Triborough Bridge, the parkway continues towardlower Manhattan asFDR Drive. All of Harlem River Drive is designatedNew York State Route 907P (NY 907P), an unsignedreference route.
The parkway north of 165th Street was originally part of theHarlem River Speedway, ahorse carriage roadway opened in 1898. The rest of the parkway from 125th to 165th Street opened to traffic in stages from 1951 to 1962. The parkway's ceremonial designation,369th Harlem Hellfighters Drive, is in honor of the369th Infantry Regiment, also known as the Harlem Hellfighters.
Harlem River Drive begins at exit 17 of theFDR Drive in theEast Harlem section ofManhattan. The parkway crosses under125th Street alongside theHarlem River, where exit 18 leads off the northbound lanes to theWillis Avenue Bridge before bending to the northwest. exit 19 leads off the southbound lanes to 125th Street. Harlem River Drive proceeds northwest, crosses under theThird Avenue Bridge, reaching exit 21 northbound, a junction for135th Street. Southbound, exit 20 connects toPark Avenue. Continuing northward, Harlem River Drive continues north under theMadison Avenue Bridge. Southbound, Harlem River Drive meets exit 22, a junction to 142nd Street andFifth Avenue.[3]
Crossing under145th Street, Harlem River Drive passes east of the145th Street subway station on theIRT Lenox Avenue Line (3 train). It then passes directly east of the Lenox Yard and theHarlem – 148th Street station. Harlem River Drive crosses under theMacombs Dam Bridge,155th Street, andSeventh Avenue before crossing northbound exit 23, a left exit toFrederick Douglass Boulevard. Then, the parkway runs east of thePolo Grounds site and merges with the southbound exit 23, an exit to Frederick Douglass Boulevard and the Harlem River Driveway, which runs south to 155th Street. Shortly after, Harlem River Drive enters exit 24, a four-lane viaduct that rises from the parkway to connect to theGeorge Washington Bridge viaI-95 andUS 1 along theTrans-Manhattan Expressway, as well toAmsterdam Avenue inWashington Heights.[3]
Harlem River Drive continues northeast as a four-lane parkway. Crossing under theAlexander Hamilton Bridge, Harlem River Drive crosses throughHighbridge Park before turning away from the Harlem River inInwood. The four-lane arterial continues north through Manhattan, entering a junction withDyckman Street andTenth Avenue, which is the northern end of Harlem River Drive.[3]
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The Drive originated as theHarlem River Speedway,[4] which started construction in 1894[5] and opened in July 1898.[6] Originally, the Speedway was exclusively for the use of horse-drawn carriages and those on horseback; bicyclists were specifically excluded, as weresulkies anddrays. The Speedway ran fromWest 155th Street toDyckman Street, and soon became a tourist destination, where visitors watched carriage races and boat races on the river. Rich New Yorkers used the Speedway to train their horses and size up those of their friends and competitors.[4][7] In 1919, motorists were allowed on the Speedway, but for normal driving purposes.[7][8] The route was paved in 1922, and officially renamed theHarlem River Driveway.[7][9]
In 1939, Manhattan Borough PresidentStanley M. Isaacs unveiled plans to build Harlem River Drive,[10] which was planned as a four-lane road linking the Harlem River Speedway andEast River (now FDR) Drive north ofEast 125th Street.[4] The initial section of the drive would stretch from 125th to 165th Streets, near where it merged into the speedway.[11] Traffic from theTriborough Bridge and the several Harlem River bridges joining theMajor Deegan Expressway inthe Bronx would feed into the drive.[10] Harlem River Drive would also contain playgrounds and parks along its route, similar to those on East River Drive,[11] There would be aservice road abutting the drive's west side.[10] Sections of the old speedway in the path of the highway would incorporated into the new highway.[12] There would also be new ramps from the speedway section to the then-newly builtGeorge Washington Bridge.[13]
The cost of Harlem River Drive was originally estimated at over $18 million, of which $11 million was used to build the highway itself and nearly $7 million in acquired lands.[12] However, there were some disagreements during the planning of the new highway, and by 1946, the cost had increased to $26 million.[14]
The modern Harlem River Drive was completed in segments during the 1950s and early 1960s.[4] The segment connecting the Speedway toEighth Avenue, which ended at 159th Street, was completed in 1951.[15][16] The highway from 125th Street and First Avenue to 132nd Street and Park Avenue opened in 1958, connecting three of the Harlem River bridges.[17] Another section between 142nd and 161st Streets opened in 1960,[18] and an extension south to 132nd Street opened two years later, closing the gap between the two sections.[19] In 1964, shortly after the drive's completion, the entire drive was widened to six lanes.[20]
In 2003, theNew York State Department of Transportation ceremonially designated the parkway as the "369th Harlem Hellfighters Drive" in honor ofthe all-black regiment that fought to defendFrance duringWorld War I.[21]
In April 2010, theManhattan Waterfront Greenway runs between the river and the drive, from 155th to Dyckman Streets, in a portion ofHighbridge Park which had been abandoned and fenced off approximately half a century.[22]
As part of the reconstruction of the Willis Avenue Bridge, its ramps with the road were rebuilt.[citation needed]
Exit numbers continue sequentially from those ofFDR Drive. The entire route is in theNew York Cityborough ofManhattan.
| Location | mi [1][23][2] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Harlem | 0.00 | 0.00 | – |  FDR Drive south –Battery Park | Continuation south |
| 17 |      RFK Bridge (NY 900G south) toI-278 /Grand Central Parkway east –Bruckner Expressway | Also servesRandall's Island | |||
| 0.1 | 0.16 | 18 |   Willis Avenue Bridge toI-87 north (Major Deegan Expressway) | Northbound exit only; formerNY 1A | |
| 0.1– 0.5 | 0.16– 0.80 | 19 | 2nd Avenue /East 125th Street | Southbound left exit | |
| 0.5 | 0.80 | – | Third Avenue Bridge | Southbound entrance only; formerNY 1A | |
| 0.61 | 0.98 | 20 | Park Avenue /East 132nd Street | Southbound exit and entrance | |
| 0.77 | 1.24 | 21 | East 135th Street /Madison Avenue Bridge | Northbound exit only | |
| 0.90– 1.40 | 1.45– 2.25 | 22 | 5th Avenue /West 142nd Street | No northbound exit | |
| Washington Heights | 2.1 | 3.4 | 23 | Frederick Douglass Boulevard /West 155th Street | Northbound left exit and southbound entrance |
| 2.6 | 4.2 | Frederick Douglass Boulevard toWest 155th Street | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; access via Harlem River Driveway | ||
| Highbridge Park | 2.8 | 4.5 | 24 |  I-95 south /US 1 south /Amsterdam Avenue /West 179th Street –George Washington Bridge | Northbound left exit and southbound left entrance; exit 2 on I-95 |
| Inwood | 4.20 | 6.76 | – | Dyckman Street /10th Avenue | Northern terminus;at-grade intersection |
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
