 U.S. Route 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 US 1 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNYSDOT,PANYNJ,NYCDOT, and the cities ofNew Rochelle andRye | ||||
| Length | 21.54 mi[1] (34.67 km) | |||
| Existed | 1926–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |    I-95 /US 1-9 /US 46 at theNew Jersey state line | |||
| Major intersections |
| |||
| North end |  US 1 at theConnecticut state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | New York,Bronx,Westchester | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a part of theU.S. Highway System that extends fromKey West, Florida, to theCanada–United States border atFort Kent, Maine. In theU.S. state ofNew York, US 1 extends 21.54 miles (34.67 km) from theGeorge Washington Bridge inManhattan to theConnecticut state line atPort Chester. It closely parallelsInterstate 95 (I-95) for much of its course and does not serve as a majortrunk road within the state. It is notconcurrent with any other highways besides I-95 and (briefly)US 9, and few other state highways intersect it.
It travels through a variety of different terrain within the city andWestchester County, from theCross Bronx Expressway to several important surface roads in the northwesternBronx and then the main street of the Westchester suburbs alongLong Island Sound. In many of the latter communities, it begins to intermittently follow the route of the historicBoston Post Road and often still carries that name.
US 1 was designated as part of the 1926 establishment of the U.S. Highway System. It was first signed in New York in 1927, replacingNew York State Route 1 (NY 1), a route assigned three years earlier as part of the creation of the modern New York state route system.
US 1 enters New York concurrent with I-95 and US 9, but returns to a solo surface route a short distance into the Bronx. It remains a busy urban and suburban artery all the way to Connecticut, often four lanes wide and serving as the main street of many of the communities it passes through once it leaves the city. I-95 returns to close proximity in the suburbs as well, and the two roads intersect twice.
US 1 entersManhattan on theGeorge Washington Bridge together withI-95 andUS 9. Theconcurrency between US 1 and US 9 that began atWoodbridge 31 miles (50 km) to the south ends at the first exit, when US 9 splits to the north to followBroadway. The expressway continues another mile (1.6 km), crossing under several buildings in short tunnels before crossing theHarlem River via theAlexander Hamilton Bridge intothe Bronx. It is bookended by an exit to theHarlem River Drive on the west and theMajor Deegan Expressway (I-87) on the east.[2]
The busy highway, now known as theCross Bronx Expressway, continues another two miles (3.2 km) until US 1 leaves it atWebster Avenue, one of the Bronx's longest streets, in theTremont section of the borough, on a northerly heading. A mile and a half (2.4 km) beyond the Cross Bronx, US 1 turns right (east) ontoFordham Road, near theeponymous university. At this busy transportation hub, the road also crossesMetro-North Railroad atFordham station. Due to the prohibition of left turns from Fordham Road to Webster Avenue, southbound traffic on US 1 requires taking a detour onto Washington Avenue and East 189th Street.
US 1's eastward heading trends to the south as it entersBronx Park a mile (1.6 km) to the east, after a complex junction withSouthern Boulevard. In the park, it crosses theBronx River, where it trends back to the north again, and has a fullcloverleaf interchange with theBronx River Parkway. Immediately following that, it turns north on Boston Road, the first section of theBoston Post Road it follows into Connecticut. This slants northeast across the eastern outskirts ofWilliamsbridge pastGun Hill Road intoEastchester, where it starts to veer eastward again, to a route more closely parallel with I-95. At Provost Avenue,NY 22, New York's longest north–south route, starts a journey to theCanada–United States border. After leaving Provost Avenue, US 1 then crosses the Eastchester Bridge named for the neighborhood it passes through. The bridge passes over theHutchinson River and then descends toward Ropes Avenue to the south, where it leaves New York City.
One-quarter mile (0.40 km) into the village ofPelham Manor, theHutchinson River Parkway crosses over, with access available in both directions. Now Boston Post Road, it crosses the village and, another mile (1.6 km) to the northeast, has another interchange at I-95 (now theNew England Thruway) just after enteringNew Rochelle at Pelham Country Club. Just after that it crosses underAmtrak'sNortheast Corridor.
A mile (1.6 km) past that junction, in New Rochelle's busy downtown, US 1 divides, with northbound traffic staying on Main Street while Huguenot Street takes southbound drivers. The roads rejoin after another mile, at Pratt Street, as the surrounding neighborhood becomes more residential. New Rochelle gives way toLarchmont after another mile (1.6 km) and returns to being Boston Post Road. A mile and a half (2.4 km) later, after passing through downtown,NY 125, a short route toWhite Plains, leaves to the north at Weaver Street. The junction with NY 125 is just north of the Larchmont village limits.
After another few blocks, US 1 comes to theMamaroneck town line. Here, it comes closer toLong Island Sound when it passes Harbor Island Park a mile (1.6 km) from the municipal boundary, and then enters thevillage at Mamaroneck Avenue. A mile (1.6 km) past that junction and downtown,NY 127, also bound for White Plains, forks left at Keeler Avenue as US 1 itself begins to trend more to the east intoRye, passingRye Neck High School at the town line.
To the right of the wooded area to the north is theBoston Post Road Historic District, aNational Historic Landmark (NHL) characterized by mansions and homes that have remained unchanged since before theCivil War including theJay Estate, Lounsberry, and Whitby Castle. The road begins to head more to the north after passing it and Rye Golf Club, to its interchange withPlayland Parkway, which leads tothe popular amusement park, Rye's other NHL.
One mile (1.6 km) past this junction, US 1 crosses downtown Rye, whereNY 120 forks off to the north at Purchase Street, and then passes through the junction that marks the eastern terminus ofI-287, theCross Westchester Expressway, crossing it and I-95 again in the process, with access to both. Immediately afterward it entersPort Chester, its last community in New York.
It curves a bit toward the east here, crossing the railroad tracks again after an industrial area, then turning left on South Main Street to follow a more northern route through the working-class city's busy downtown, whereNY 120A touches at Westchester and King streets to eventually follow the New York–Connecticut border back to its parent route.
Now North Main Street, US 1 continues through downtown Port Chester to cross under the tracks again. Traffic lessens here as the neighborhood grows less commercial, and, a half-mile (0.80 km) later, at Putnam Avenue, the road crosses theByram River intoGreenwich, Connecticut, at the beginning of a brief split (southbound traffic enters New York on Hillside Avenue).
US 1 roughly follows the oldBoston Post Road, an early colonial highway betweenNew York City andBoston originally laid out in 1673 for transporting mail and later utilized for stage coach travel. The old Boston Post Road began inLower Manhattan and went north across the length of Manhattan. It crossed into the mainland onKingsbridge, then continued through a largely abandoned road toWilliamsbridge, then across the northern part of the Bronx along Bussing Avenue. It then continued into Westchester County along Kingsbridge Road, South Columbus Avenue, Colonial Avenue, and Kings Highway to present US 1. From there, the old Boston Post Road roughly followed modern US 1 intoConnecticut. By 1797, a new bridge over the Harlem River, approximately at the site of theThird Avenue Bridge, had been constructed. This significantly shortened the route out of Manhattan and this new alignment became the preferred route. The new alignment usedThird Avenue andBoston Road in the Bronx, then continued along modern US 1 through Westchester County.
In 1800, the Westchester Turnpike company was chartered to build and maintain a toll road between New York City and Connecticut.[3] The company straightened out the old Boston Post Road in Westchester County to more or less the modern alignment of US 1. By the middle of the 19th century, most of the toll roads had been dissolved and the roads reverted to public management. In the beginning of the 20th century, the state highway system was established in New York and most of the main thoroughfares came under the control of theNew York State Department of Highways. Highways were first publicly marked with route numbers in 1924. The old Westchester Turnpike alignment was designated as NY 1, which matched the route number across the Connecticut state line. NY 1 ended at the New York city limits since roads in the city were not under the control of the New York State Department of Highways.
In 1926, theU.S. Highway System was established. US 1 in New York was designated fromJersey City, New Jersey, through New York City and lower Westchester, toGreenwich, Connecticut. Old NY 1 was incorporated into the new US 1. However, because New York city did not post route numbers, US 1 ended at the42nd Street Ferry landing inWeehawken (where the oldLincoln Highway crossed into the city) and resumed again at the Bronx–Westchester boundary. By 1928, theHolland Tunnel opened and the end of US 1 on the New Jersey side was moved there.
For several years, the Automobile Club of New York had been lobbying New York City to sign state highways within the city, including US 1. Their proposal was to sign US 1 from the Holland Tunnel, then alongHouston Street andSecond Avenue, then crossing the Harlem River along theWillis Avenue Bridge, then via Southern Boulevard, West Farms Road, and Boston Road. In December 1934, New York City finally agreed to sign routes within the city. By this time, the newGeorge Washington Bridge had opened, and it was decided that US 1 andUS 9 would be routed through there. The old proposed US 1 alignment through Manhattan becameNY 1A. When first signed in New York City, US 1 utilized 181st Street, then crossed the Harlem River on theWashington Bridge, and then continued on University Avenue and Fordham Road before continuing on modern US 1. In 1977, US 1 was moved to Webster Avenue and theCross Bronx Expressway, crossing the Harlem River using theAlexander Hamilton Bridge.
US 1 once had as many as three suffixed routes; however, all three were eliminated by the 1960s.
| County | Location | mi[1][15] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hudson River | 0.00 | 0.00 | – |   I-95 south /US 1-9 south (US 46 west) –New Jersey | Continuation intoNew Jersey at the river's center | |
| George Washington Bridge (northbound toll in New Jersey) | ||||||
| Manhattan | Washington Heights | 0.43 | 0.69 | 1 |   NY 9A /Henry Hudson Parkway /West 178th Street (US 9 north) | Northbound left exit and southbound entrance; northern end of US 9 concurrency; exit 14 on Henry Hudson Parkway |
| 1A | NY 9A /Henry Hudson Parkway /West 181st Street –Downtown | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; exit 14 on Henry Hudson Parkway | ||||
| 1.16 | 1.87 | 2 |    Harlem River Drive south toFDR Drive south –Manhattan | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; exit 24 on Harlem River Drive | ||
| Harlem River | 1.24– 1.41 | 2.00– 2.27 | Alexander Hamilton Bridge | |||
| The Bronx | Morris Heights | 1.41 | 2.27 | 1B | ToAmsterdam Avenue | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; access viaWashington Bridge |
| 1C-D |  I-87 (Major Deegan Expressway) –Albany,Queens,Yankee Stadium | Signed as exits 1C (I-87 north) & 1D (I-87 south); exits 7N and 7S on I-87 | ||||
| 2.08 | 3.35 | 2A | Jerome Avenue | |||
| Tremont | 2.55 | 4.10 | 2B |  I-95 north (Cross Bronx Expressway) /Webster Avenue –New Haven | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of I-95 concurrency | |
| Northern end of freeway section | ||||||
| Belmont | 4.06 | 6.53 | Fordham Road /Webster Avenue | FormerNY 22 | ||
| 4.22 | 6.79 | To US 1 south (Webster Avenue) | Access via Washington Avenue | |||
| 4.7 | 7.6 | Bronx Zoo,Fordham University,Botanical Garden | Interchange; access viaSouthern Boulevard | |||
| Bronx Park | 5.17 | 8.32 |  Bronx River Parkway –White Plains,Soundview Park  Pelham Parkway begins | Western terminus of Pelham Parkway; exits 7E & 7W on Bronx River Parkway | ||
| 5.35 | 8.61 |  Pelham Parkway east –Orchard Beach,City Island | Northern end of Pelham Parkway concurrency; formerNY 1B | |||
| Williamsbridge | 6.78 | 10.91 | Gun Hill Road | |||
| Eastchester | 8.42 | 13.55 |   NY 22 north (Provost Avenue) | Southern terminus of NY 22 | ||
| Westchester | Pelham Manor | 9.18 | 14.77 |  Hutchinson River Parkway –Whitestone Bridge | Exit 4B on Hutchinson River Parkway; formerNY 1A | |
| New Rochelle | 10.38 | 16.70 | I-95 | Exit 15 on I-95 | ||
| Town of Mamaroneck | 13.97 | 22.48 |  NY 125 north (Weaver Street) | Southern terminus of NY 125 | ||
| Village of Mamaroneck | 15.77 | 25.38 |  NY 127 north (Keeler Avenue) | Southern terminus of NY 127 | ||
| City of Rye | 17.94 | 28.87 | Playland Parkway east –Playland | Interchange | ||
| 18.85 | 30.34 |  NY 120 north (Purchase Street) | Southern terminus of NY 120; formerNY 119A | |||
| 19.1[16] | 30.7 |  ToI-95 north –New Haven | Access via Peck Avenue | |||
| Rye–Port Chester line | 19.6[16] | 31.5 |   I-95 south /I-287 west –White Plains | Exit 20 on I-95; exit 11 on I-287 | ||
| Port Chester | 20.60 | 33.15 |  ToNY 120A | Access via Westchester Avenue | ||
| 21.51 | 34.62 | Access viaNY 982C | ||||
| 21.55 | 34.68 | US 1 north | Continuation intoConnecticut | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
 U.S. Route 1 | ||
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| Previous state: New Jersey | New York | Next state: Connecticut |
