Interstate 95 in New York

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Interstate 95
Main route of the Interstate Highway System

Length:

23.50 mi (37.83 km)

South end:

I-95 in Fort Lee, NJ

Major
junctions:

I-87 in the Bronx

Hutchinson Pkwy in the Bronx

I-287 in Rye

North end:

I-95 in Greenwich, CT

NY 94

NY 95

Interstate 95, the major Interstate Highway along the East Coast of the United States, runs 23.50 miles (37.82 km) in the state of New York. It begins at the George Washington Bridge, crossing the Hudson River from New Jersey into New York City. After running across upper Manhattan on the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, it continues east across the Harlem River on the Alexander Hamilton Bridge and onto the Cross-Bronx Expressway. In the Bronx, I-95 leaves the Cross-Bronx at the Bruckner Interchange, joining the Bruckner Expressway to its end. It then continues northeast on the New England Thruway out of New York City into Westchester County and to the Connecticut state line, where I-95 continues on the Connecticut Turnpike.

1 Route description
2 Major cities
3 Spur routes
4 History
5 Traffic
6 Exit list
7 References

[edit] Route description

Interstate 95 crosses the Hudson River on the George Washington Bridge, as a concurrency with U.S. Route 1/9. The bridge carries two levels of roadway; at the New York end, the lower level splits to run on each side of the upper level, in a short dual-dual setup, with all ramps towards the bridge splitting for access to each level. The first interchange in New York is a complicated one with NY-9A (the Henry Hudson Parkway). Access is also provided to the frontage roads - 178th Street and 179th Street - to the east, providing access for buses to the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal and for all vehicles to Broadway. US 9 takes these ramps, heading north on Broadway towards Albany. East of the Henry Hudson Parkway interchange, I-95 runs east across Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan via the Trans-Manhattan Expressway, which lies in a trench between 178th and 179th Streets. Near its east end, portions of the older 178th Street Tunnel and 179th Street Tunnel still exist, now closed. West of Broadway, the Expressway passes under the George Washington Bridge Bus Terminal; several blocks east of Broadway are covered by apartment buildings built over the trench of the Trans-Manhattan Expressway. After crossing under Amsterdam Avenue, I-95 reaches its second and last interchange in Manhattan, providing access only to and from the south (compass west). Direct ramps run from I-95 to the Harlem River Drive towards the south, as well as to the Washington Bridge over the Harlem River into the Bronx; ramps are also present to connect to Amsterdam Avenue. (Traffic between Amsterdam Avenue and the north on I-95 can cross the Washington Bridge for access to I-95 in the Bronx.)

The lanes coming off the two levels of the bridge merge just before the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, which takes I-95 (and US 1) across the Harlem River just south of the Washington Bridge. A full interchange is provided with Interstate 87 (the Major Deegan Expressway) just after crossing the bridge, and ramps to and from the Washington Bridge are included in that interchange, where the Cross-Bronx Expressway begins its run east across the Bronx.

U.S. Route 1 leaves the Cross-Bronx Expressway at the Webster Avenue interchange, and the Expressway continues east as only I-95. Interstate 895 (the Sheridan Expressway) runs south to Interstate 278, pointing towards the Triboro Bridge. Just after is the interchange with the Bronx River Parkway, and then soon comes the huge Bruckner Interchange. At that interchange, the lanes of the Cross Bronx Expressway split for the Bruckner Expressway (Interstate 278) to come in between, and the Hutchinson River Parkway (Interstate 678 to the south) interchanges with both roads. I-95 switches to the Bruckner Expressway, which continues northeast from the interchange, and the Cross-Bronx continues southeast towards the Throgs Neck Bridge as Interstate 295.

The Bruckner Expressway soon turns north as it merges with the Throgs Neck Expressway (Interstate 695). At the Bronx and Pelham Parkway, the Bruckner becomes the New England Thruway, part of the New York State Thruway system. I-95 then crosses the Hutchinson River Parkway once, curves gently to the northeast, and crosses the Hutch again before exiting New York City into Westchester County. The New England Thruway passes through New Rochelle, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Rye and Port Chester, ending at the Connecticut state line, where the Connecticut Turnpike continues as I-95. The only toll on the New England Thruway is a northbound-only barrier in New Rochelle. In Rye and Port Chester, just shy of the state line, Interstate 287 (the Cross-Westchester Expressway) ends at I-95.

[edit] Major cities

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs.

[edit] Spur routes

Interstate 295 runs southeast from the Bruckner Interchange along the Cross-Bronx Expressway, then south over the Throgs Neck Bridge and Clearview Expressway to its terminus at Hillside Avenue, just south of the Grand Central Parkway. It was once part of Interstate 78 and was planned to terminate at the John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Interstate 495 runs from Interstate 278 east along the Long Island Expressway to Riverhead, crossing I-295 in Queens. It was once planned to continue west to I-95 in New Jersey; that part is now New York Route 495 and New Jersey Route 495. It was also to go east and meet I-95 again in either Conneticuit or in Rhode Island. This would have made I-495 a loop off of its parent.
Interstate 695 is a short route along the Throgs Neck Expressway, connecting I-295 to I-95 in the Bronx. It is officially part of I-295, and was once part of I-78, but is signed as I-695. The number had been used for other plans, including a route parallel to Woodhaven Boulevard and an upgrade of the West Side Highway and Henry Hudson Parkway.
Interstate 895 is a short connection along the Sheridan Expressway from Interstate 278 to I-95 in the Bronx. It was planned to continue north from I-95 to rejoin it near Pelham Bay Park.

[edit] History

Interstate 95 was designated in the late 1950s, and has always run along its current path in New York. The majority of it had already been built, with the final sections - parts of the Cross-Bronx Expressway and Bruckner Expressway - finished in 1963 and 1972 respectively. Prior to the 1972 completion of the Bruckner, coinciding with the completion of the new Bruckner Interchange, the old Bruckner Boulevard (part of Route 164) was used by through traffic.

I-95 was one of only a few roads in New York to use mile-based exit numbers. The exits on the New England Thruway were originally sequential, beginning at 1 at its south end - but were at some point renumbered to continue where the mile-based numbers left off, while remaining sequential. In the early 2000s, the numbers on the free section were slowly changed to new sequential numbers; the numbers on the Thruway have not yet been changed.

[edit] Traffic

Any New Yorker can tell you that congestion on the Cross Bronx Expressway segment of I-95 could not be worse. There are many delays on this freeway. NYC through traffic is usually better served by the more modern I-287 beltway around NYC.

[edit] Exit list

Municipality	Number		Mile	Destinations	Notes
Municipality		Old	Mile	Destinations	Notes
Manhattan			0.0	Interstate 95 continues onto the George Washington Bridge
	1	1A	0.6	U.S. Route 9/ NY 9A - 178th Street/West 181st Street/Henry Hudson Parkway	US 9 joins southbound and leaves northbound
	2	1B	1.2	Amsterdam Avenue/Harlem River Drive (Washington Bridge) - Manhattan	northbound exit and southbound entrance
The Bronx	3	1C	1.4	Interstate 87 - Major Deegan Expressway/Amsterdam Avenue/Albany/Queens
		2A	2.0	Jerome Avenue
		2B	2.7	Webster Avenue ( U.S. Route 1 north)	northbound exit and southbound entrance US 1 joins southbound and leaves northbound
		3	3.2	Third Avenue	southbound exit and northbound entrance
		4A	4.0	Interstate 895 south - Sheridan Expressway/Triboro Bridge	northbound exit and southbound entrance
		4B	4.4	Rosedale Avenue/Bronx River Parkway
	8	5A	5.1	White Plains Road/Westchester Avenue
	9	5B		Castle Hill Avenue	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	10	6A	6.4	Interstate 678 south - Whitestone Bridge	Bruckner Interchange
	11	6B		Interstate 278 west - Bruckner Expressway/Triboro Bridge	Bruckner Interchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
	12	6B		Interstate 295 south - Throgs Neck Bridge	Bruckner Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
		7A	7.3	Interstate 695 to Interstate 295 - Throgs Neck Bridge/Long Island	southbound exit and northbound entrance
		7B		East Tremont Avenue	southbound exit and northbound entrance
		7C		Country Club Road - Pelham Bay Park	northbound exit and southbound entrance
		8A		Westchester Avenue	southbound exit and northbound entrance
		8B		Orchard Beach/City Island
	8C	1	8.7	Pelham Parkway west
	9	2	9.0	Hutchinson Parkway north
	10	2		Gun Hill Road	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	11	3		Bartow Avenue/Co-Op City Boulevard
	12	4	10.1	Baychester Avenue	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	13	5	10.9	Conner Street/Baychester Avenue	To NY 22
	14	6	11.4	Hutchinson Parkway south - Whitestone Bridge	southbound exit and northbound entrance
New Rochelle	15	7	13.1	U.S. Route 1 - New Rochelle/The Pelhams
	16	8	14.5	North Avenue/Cedar Street - New Rochelle
				New Rochelle barrier toll (northbound only)
	17	9	15.7	Chatsworth Avenue - Larchmont	northbound exit and southbound entrance
Mamaroneck	18	10	17.6/18.5	Fenimore Avenue/Mamaroneck Road - Mamaroneck/White Plains	split into 18A and 18B
Rye	19	11	21.0	Playland Parkway - Rye/Harrison
	20	12	22.2	U.S. Route 1 south - Rye	northbound exit and southbound entrance
	21	12		Interstate 287 west/ U.S. Route 1 north - White Plains/Tappan Zee Bridge
	22	13	22.6	Midland Avenue - Port Chester/Rye	southbound exit is part of exit 21
Port Chester			23.5	Interstate 95 continues onto the Connecticut Turnpike