 New York State Route 440 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Staten Island in New York City with NY 440 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNYSDOT andPANYNJ | ||||
| Length | 12.7 mi[1][2] (20.4 km) | |||
| Existed | 1949[3]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  Route 440 at theNew Jersey state line | |||
| Major intersections |  Korean War Veterans Parkway inCharleston I-278 fromBloomfield toBulls Head/Graniteville | |||
| North end | Route 440 at the New Jersey state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Richmond | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
New York State Route 440 (NY 440) is afreeway located entirely onStaten Island inNew York City. The route acts as a connector between the two segments ofNew Jersey Route 440, running from the Staten Island neighborhood ofCharleston in the south toPort Richmond in the north. NY 440 is connected to the two New Jersey segments by theOuterbridge Crossing to the south and theBayonne Bridge to the north. It is one of several signed New York State routes that are not connected to any others in the state, and one of only two New York State routes (NY 426 being the other) that is the middle section of another state's highway bearing the same number. From theKorean War Veterans Parkway toI-278, it is known as theWest Shore Expressway. North of I-278, it is named theDr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (also known as theWillowbrook Expressway). NY 440 is the southernmost state route in the state of New York.
NY 440 begins at theNew York–New Jersey state line, mid-span on the east-westOuterbridge Crossing over theArthur Kill in theCharleston neighborhood ofStaten Island. The four-lane bridge crosses east through Charleston and overArthur Kill Road.
After entering Staten Island, NY 440 passes through atoll barrier for eastbound traffic entering the city. Immediately following the toll barrier is a ramp to Page Avenue, the eastbound exit 1.[4] In the westbound direction, the ramp to Arthur Kill Road is exit 1.
After Page Avenue, NY 440 enters apartial cloverleaf interchange with theKorean War Veterans Parkway (though often referred to as the Richmond Parkway, its name until 1997) and a nearbypark and ride. At exit 2 in Charleston, NY 440 exits the right-of-way it entered on, which becomes the Korean War Veterans Parkway, while NY 440 proceeds north as the co-signed West Shore Expressway.[4]
The West Shore Expressway continues north as a four-lane expressway, entering exit 3, a ramp to Woodrow Road going northbound. Crossing into theRossville neighborhood, the expressway enters exit 3 southbound, connecting to Bloomingdale Road, and parallels a section of theArthur Kill. Crossing north of South Shore Golf Course, the West Shore enters exit 4, an interchange with Huguenot Avenue. Continuing northeast, NY 440 is routed parallel with the eastern side of the formerFresh Kills Landfill, with exit 5 providing access to Arden Avenue. Bending northward once again, the West Shore crosses overFresh Kills creek, and passes through a portion of theWilliam T. Davis Wildlife Refuge. West Shore continues through theChelsea-Travis neighborhood, accessible at exit 7 through a service road interchange withVictory Boulevard (itself previously designated as NY 439A, untilc. 1968).[5][6]
_just_north_of_Interstate_278_(Staten_Island_Expressway)_in_Staten_Island%2c_New_York.jpg)
Running along the northern end of Travis, the West Shore Expressway parallels nearby railroad tracks before entering exit 8, a ramp to South Avenue and theBloomfield neighborhood. Just a bit further north, the expressway enters exit 9 northbound, a single ramp to Glen Street. Just north of Glen Street, the West Shore Expressway enters asemi-directional T interchange with the northwest-southeast Staten Island Expressway portion of I-278. At this interchange, NY 440 and I-278 become concurrent for a short distance on the Staten Island Expressway, a four-lane expressway along the northern tier of Staten Island. Along this stretch, NY 440 and I-278 meetRichmond Avenue at exit 7. Just to the east, the expressway enters exit 9, which serves as a junction with the Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (the Dr. MLK Jr., also known, for its initial portion, as the Willowbrook Expressway).[4]
NY 440 turns north off I-278 and continues as the Dr. MLK Jr. Expressway, just north of an interchange with Victory Boulevard. The Dr. MLK Jr. Expressway crosses north through Staten Island, with the neighborhoods ofGraniteville thenMariners Harbor on the west side, whileWesterleigh thenElm Park (technically a portion of thePort Richmond neighborhood) are on the east side. Dr. MLK Jr. enters exit 12, a junction with Forest Avenue (the portion used by the previously designated, until 1968,NY 439), forming a "four corners" of the neighborhoods just mentioned. Continuing north, Dr. MLK Jr. enters exit 13, which connects to Walker Street in Port Richmond. Just north of exit 13, NY 440 passes through anelectronic toll collection gantry (for traffic crossing from New Jersey over theBergen Point Reach to enter onto the northside of Staten Island), then slopes onto the abutments of theBayonne Bridge, condensing to four lanes. A short distance to the north, NY 440 crosses the state line back into New Jersey, continuing north asRoute 440 into the city ofBayonne.[4]
NY 440 was initially designated in 1949, beginning at theOuterbridge Crossing and ending at theBayonne Bridge, as it does today; however, the route was originally routed on Drumgoole Boulevard andRichmond Avenue in between the two bridges.[7] In the early 1950s, proposals surfaced for the Willowbrook Parkway, which would extend from Staten Island Marine Park (laterGreat Kills Park and now part of theGateway National Recreation Area) on the island'sEast Shore to the Bayonne Bridge viaEgbertville andBulls Head.[7][8] A second highway, the West Shore Expressway, was proposedc. 1961. As proposed, it would begin at the Outerbridge Crossing and run along the west shore ofStaten Island to meet theClove Lakes Expressway (I-278) near theGoethals Bridge.[9][10]The first section of the Willowbrook Parkway—from I-278 north to modern exit 13—was completed by 1965.[11] A short extension south toVictory Boulevard was opened to traffic by 1968. The highway was also renamed the Willowbrook Expressway by this time.[6] It was never extended past Victory Boulevard as opposition from both local property owners and environmental activists prevented construction of the rest of the highway. Its original route has never been formally demapped, however.[12][13] NY 440 was realigned to follow the Willowbrook Expressway by 1970.[14]
Drumgoole Boulevard was transformed into afreeway in the late 1960s and early 1970s[6][15] and renamed theRichmond Parkway (now theKorean War Veterans Parkway)c. 1973; however, NY 440 initially continued to follow the parkway. The segment of the West Shore Expressway southwest of Huguenot Avenue was openedc. 1973[15][16] and became part of a realigned NY 440 on July 1, 1977.[17] NY 440 left the expressway at Huguenot Avenue and followed Arthur Kill Road east to Richmond Avenue, where it continued north on its original alignment. The former alignment of NY 440 on the Richmond Parkway was redesignated as Temporary NY 440.[16][18] When the West Shore Expressway was completed in 1976,[3] the Temporary NY 440 designation was eliminated while NY 440 was shifted westward to follow the West Shore and Clove Lakes Expressways between Huguenot Avenue and the Willowbrook Expressway.[19]
In the mid-1960s, officials in New Jersey and New York considered extending theI-287 designation eastward from its current terminus at theNew Jersey Turnpike (I-95) to Staten Island viaNew Jersey Route 440 and the Richmond Parkway. The idea was eventually halted soon afterward. However, it is possible that theNew York State Department of Transportation may reconsider these plans in the future.[20] In 1990, the Willowbrook Expressway was renamed the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway in honor ofMartin Luther King Jr., the famouscivil rights leader.[12] However, it is sometimes still called the Willowbrook Expressway by many locals today. The West Shore Expressway was ceremonially designated thePearl Harbor Veterans Expressway by New York GovernorGeorge Pataki in 1999. However, the expressway's official name did not change.[21]
The entire route is in theNew York Cityborough ofStaten Island.
| Location | mi[1][2] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Kill | 0.0 | 0.0 |    Route 440 south toG.S. Parkway –New Jersey | Continuation intoNew Jersey | |
| Outerbridge Crossing (northbound toll;E-ZPass orpay-by-plate) | |||||
| Charleston | 0.6 | 0.97 | 1 | Arthur Kill Rd | Southbound exit and entrance; access via Veterans Road West |
Page Ave TOHylan Blvd Korean War Veterans Parkway begins | Northbound exit and entrance; access via Boscombe Avenue; southern terminus of Korean War Veterans Parkway | ||||
| 1.1 | 1.8 | 2 |  Korean War Veterans Parkway north toRichmond Ave –Park & Ride | Northern end of the concurrency with Korean War Veterans Parkway; former routing of NY 440 | |
| 2.0 | 3.2 | 3A | Englewood Ave | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; opened September 30, 2014;[22] servesClay Pit Ponds State Park | |
| 3 | To Woodrow Rd | Northbound exit only; access via Clay Pit Road | |||
| Charleston–Rossville line | 3B | Bloomingdale Rd | No northbound exit | ||
| Rossville | 3.7 | 6.0 | 4 (SB) 6 (NB) | Arthur Kill Rd / Huguenot Ave | |
| Greenridge | 5.0 | 8.0 | 5 | Muldoon Ave / Arden Ave | Southbound exit only |
| Fresh Kills | 5.4 | 8.7 | Bridge | ||
| Travis | 6.2 | 10.0 | 7 | Victory Blvd | |
| Chelsea | 7.1 | 11.4 | 8 | South Ave | |
| Bloomfield | 7.8 | 12.6 | 9 | Glen St | Northbound exit only; opened in 2001[23] |
| 9.2 | 14.8 | 10 |   I-278 west –Goethals Br,Newark Airport | Southern end of the concurrency with I-278; exit number not signed northbound; servesHowland Hook Marine Terminal | |
| 9.22 | 14.84 | 6 | South Ave | Southbound exit only | |
| Bulls Head–Graniteville line | 9.5 | 15.3 | 7 | Richmond Ave | |
| 10.1– 10.3 | 16.3– 16.6 | 8 (NB) 11 (SB) | Victory Blvd | FormerNY 439A | |
| 10E |  I-278 east –Verrazzano Br,Brooklyn | Northern end of the concurrency with I-278 | |||
| Mariners Harbor–Port Richmond line | 11.3 | 18.2 | 12 | Forest Ave | FormerNY 439 |
| 12.0 | 19.3 | 13 | Richmond Ter (NB) Morningstar Rd / Richmond Ter (SB) | Morningstar Road not signed northbound | |
| Kill Van Kull | 12.7 | 20.4 | Bayonne Bridge (southbound toll; E-ZPass or pay-by-plate) | ||
 Route 440 north –Jersey City | Continuation intoNew Jersey | ||||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
