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106-648: New York State Route 9A ( NY 9A ) is a state highway in the vicinity of New York City in the United States. Its southern terminus is at Battery Place near the northern end of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel in New York City, where it intersects with both the unsigned Interstate 478 (I-478) and FDR Drive . The northern terminus of NY 9A is at U.S. Route 9 (US 9) in Peekskill . It

212-441: A commuter route into the city for residents who moved into towns that became suburbanized as a result of the parkway. The state and regional transportation planners have worked to adapt to this change since the 1940s. The Taconic's character changes with its surroundings. In the busy suburbs of its first few miles, it is a narrow at-grade roadway, paralleling a commuter rail line through a small downtown. Soon after that, it becomes

318-635: A 3-mile (5 km) overlap between NY 9A and NY 100 from Hawthorne to Briarcliff Manor and resulted in the truncation of NY 141 back to its previous terminus in Hawthorne. Construction on the Croton Expressway , the only piece of the failed Hudson River Expressway project that was ever built, began in the mid-1960s. It became part of a realigned US 9 when it was completed by 1967. The former surface routing of US 9 along Albany Post Road between Croton-on-Hudson and Buchanan became

424-701: A brief concurrency with US 9 as the Croton Expressway in Ossining just south of the Croton River. The second concurrency between US 9 and NY 9A runs for 1.10 miles, with NY 9A leaving the Croton Expressway at NY 129 in Croton-on-Hudson . The highway heads north along Riverside Avenue and eventually joins old Albany Post Road . After crossing US 9 once more in Cortlandt , NY 9A ends at

530-506: A designated National Highway System , but the system is completely unsigned, aside from the Trans-Canada routes. This makes Canada unique in that national highway designations are generally secondary to subnational routes. In Germany , state roads ( Landesstraßen or Staatsstraßen ) are a road class which is ranking below the federal road network ( Bundesstraßen ). The responsibility for road planning, construction and maintenance

636-574: A drive just for the fun of it" and "unquestionably among the most scenic roadways in the Northeast, winding along the Hudson Valley with a painter's eye for landscape and a gearhead's idea of fun." The Lonely Planet New York State guidebook calls it a "highway masterpiece". The parkway's engineering principles evolved over the four decades it took to build, with northern sections reflecting improvements in construction technology and lessons learned from

742-567: A full interchange that provides a route to the northbound Thruway (I-87). NY 100 merges with NY 9A to form a 3.11-mile (5.01 km) concurrency carrying the names Saw Mill River Road and Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway, parallel to the Taconic State Parkway . NY 9A exits off this highway along the Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway, while NY 100 continues straight as Saw Mill River Road. NY 9A merges to form

848-720: A half mile (0.80 km) north of that exit, northbound traffic can also exit, and southbound traffic enters, at Pines Bridge Road. The roadways grow far apart over the next mile before coming together again at the NY ;134 exit, as Turkey Mountain , one of the Manhattan Hills, looms ahead. The Taconic then enters Yorktown , the last town along the Taconic in Westchester County, and split again until they are 1,500 feet (460 m) apart, with neighborhoods and houses between them, to

954-628: A long curve to the east and back. At Nine Partners Road, the Taconic is back on a northward heading as it slips east of the Stanford town line. It begins to climb onto the high ground between the Hudson and the Taconic Mountains to the east. To the west there are occasional glimpses across the river valley to the Catskill Escarpment to the west. From here the parkway bends eastward again, entering

1060-509: A northward extension of NY 9A, which reached the old alignment by way of an overlap with US 9 from the north end of the Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway to Croton-on-Hudson. As the Henry Hudson Parkway replaced Riverside Drive in the mid-1930s, NY 9A was moved onto it, eventually using the new parkway to where it crossed US 9 (Broadway) in the Bronx. Here, NY 9A exited

1166-630: A now-closed overlook on the eastern side, with the two roadways 500 feet (150 m) apart in the densely wooded country, signs on both roadways mark the Taconic's highest elevation, almost 1,200 feet (370 m) above sea level. A short distance beyond that, a stone bridge marks the NY 301 exit that serves as the main access to the state park and the bathing area and hiking trails at nearby Canopus Lake . The parkway begins to descend again, entering its last Putnam County town, Kent . It bends east again, and within two miles (3.2 km) it crosses into Dutchess County . Continuing its easterly slant,

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1272-526: A population of at least 10,000 inhabitants are urban roads (type D and E) under the jurisdiction of the relevant municipalities. The state highway that cross towns or villages with a population of less than 10,000 inhabitants are urban roads (type D and E) under the jurisdiction of the municipality, subject to authorization from ANAS . State highways in India are numbered highways that are laid and maintained by state governments . Mexico 's State Highway System

1378-500: A scenic road through the eastern Hudson Valley , was instrumental in making it a reality as a way to provide access to existing and planned state parks in the region. Its winding, hilly route was designed by landscape architect Gilmore Clarke to offer scenic vistas of the Hudson Highlands , Catskills and Taconic regions. The bridges and now-closed service areas were designed to be aesthetically pleasing. It has been praised for

1484-517: A six-lane urban boulevard with a parkway-style median and decorative lightposts. The first of the project's seven segments—between Clarkson and Horatio streets in the Greenwich Village neighborhood—was completed in 1998. Completion of the project was originally set for October 2001; however, it was delayed for years due to damage caused by the September 11 attacks . It was finished by 2014. After

1590-509: A small interchange with NY 141 , a three-level stack interchange allows access to the Saw Mill River Parkway northbound (and southbound from the southbound lanes). North of the interchange power lines and Saw Mill River Road ( New York State Route 9A or NY 9A and NY 100 ) on the west parallel the parkway past undeveloped Graham Hills County Park. The next exit, at Bedford Road ( NY 117 ), serves Pleasantville to

1696-523: A state or province include both nationally numbered highways and un-numbered state highways. Depending on the state, "state highway" may be used for one meaning and "state road" or "state route" for the other. In some countries such as New Zealand , the word "state" is used in its sense of a sovereign state or country. By this meaning a state highway is a road maintained and numbered by the national government rather than local authorities. Australia 's important urban and inter-regional routes not covered by

1802-441: A steep ridge, narrowing to less than 100 feet (30 m), with a high stone retaining wall along the east side, to Peekskill Hollow Creek and the exit for the similarly named road, briefly entering the town of Carmel in the process. It starts to climb again just past the exit, and 1 ⁄ 2 mile (0.80 km) to the north it goes into an S-curved section with both segments having extremely narrow radii. The Taconic moves to

1908-608: A three-digit number designation, preceded by D . Provincial roads ( Turkish : İl yolu ) are secondary roads, maintained by respective local governments with the support of the KGM. The roads have a four-digit numbering grouped as two pairs, pairs are separated by a dash. First pair represents the license number of that province . State highways are generally a mixture of primary and secondary roads, although some are freeways (for example, State Route 99 in California, which links many of

2014-440: A wide divided highway, with median strips and gentle turn radii similar to an Interstate Highway carrying much commuter traffic. In the Hudson Highlands , it narrows again as it curves back and forth and climbs up and down quickly to its highest point. When the terrain levels out again, it widens and begins to assume its scenic character in a growing, exurban area with at-grade intersections. Its northernmost section, located on

2120-481: A wide valley carved by a tributary of the Hudson, the first place where the road begins to respond to the increasing relief of the landscape. The Taconic then passes through undeveloped woods, part of another local park, and under a footbridge carrying a hiking trail. Curving northeast, the exits for NY 132 and US 6 (recently improved), with residences on either side of the parkway, herald Shrub Oak and Jefferson Valley . A short distance past that exit,

2226-465: A wooded area where the two roadways split wide apart, merging with the Sprain Brook Parkway . At the merge, the Taconic continues north as a wider, six-lane freeway. For the remainder of Westchester County, the Taconic has been rebuilt, widened, and modernized to meet the needs of commuter growth, bearing little resemblance to its original design. A thousand feet (300 m) to the north, after

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2332-732: Is 100 km/h, with reductions when one passes through a densely populated area. The highways in New Zealand are all state highways, and the network consists of SH 1 running the length of both main islands, SH 2–5 and 10–58 in the North Island, and SH 6–8 and 60–99 in the South Island. National and provincial highways are numbered approximately north to south. State Highway 1 runs the length of both islands. Local highways ( Korean :  지방도 ; Hanja :  地方道 ; RR :  Jibangdo ; MR :  Chipangdo ) are

2438-482: Is a system of urban and state routes constructed and maintained by each Mexican state. The main purpose of the state networks is to serve as a feeder system to the federal highway system. All states except the Federal District operate a road network. Each state marks these routes with a white shield containing the abbreviated name of the state plus the route number. New Zealand state highways are national highways –

2544-511: Is divided into states and has state highways. For example, the longest highway in the state of São Paulo , the Rodovia Raposo Tavares , is designated as SP-270 and SP-295 . Canada is divided into provinces and territories, each of which maintains its own system of provincial or territorial highways, which form the majority of the country's highway network. There is also the national transcontinental Trans-Canada Highway system, which

2650-542: Is free to choose a different marker, and most states have. States may choose a design theme relevant to its state (such as an outline of the state itself) to distinguish state route markers from interstate, county, or municipal route markers. Taconic State Parkway The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP ) is a 104.12-mile (167.56 km) limited-access parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham ,

2756-596: Is marked by distinct signs, but has no uniform numeric designation across the country. In the eastern provinces, for instance, an unnumbered (though sometimes with a named route branch) Trans-Canada route marker is co-signed with a numbered provincial sign, with the provincial route often continuing alone outside the Trans-Canada Highway section. However, in the western provinces, the two parallel Trans-Canada routes are consistently numbered with Trans-Canada route markers; as Highways 1 and 16 respectively. Canada also has

2862-563: Is not a road class. The Strade Statali , abbreviated SS, is the Italian national network of state highways. The total length for the network is about 25.000 km (15.534 mi). The Italian state highway network are maintained by ANAS . From 1928 until 1946 state highways were maintained by Azienda Autonoma Statale della Strada (AASS). The next level of roads below Strada Statali is Strada Regionale ("regional roads"). The routes of some state highways derive from ancient Roman roads , such as

2968-622: Is predominantly an alternate route of US 9 between New York City and Peekskill; however, in New York City, it is a major route of its own as it runs along the West Side Highway and Henry Hudson Parkway . It is also one of only two signed New York State routes in Manhattan (the other is NY 25 ). In northern Westchester County , NY 9A follows the Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway . The origins of NY 9A date back to

3074-400: Is similar to that in northern Dutchess, with more views opening up in the north as the road levels out. The surrounding farms and woods get more extensive. After entering the county, the Taconic continues due north through the town of Gallatin through unbroken woods. It bends slightly to the intersection with CR 8 to pass the beach at Lake Taghkanic State Park , with the access road for

3180-755: Is the last before the Thruway tolls at the end of the road. The last exit for Rock City Road is open only to southbound traffic, allowing commercial vehicles that have ventured onto the parkway to exit. A toll gantry for exit B2 on the Berkshire Section of the New York State Thruway ( I-90 ), marks the administrative end of the Taconic State Parkway, 104 miles (167 km) from Kensico Circle. Landscape architects such as Gilmore Clarke worked closely with engineers and construction crews during

3286-476: Is the notion of engineering as an art form that can in some way embellish or even improve upon nature: there is no radical disjuncture here but a sense of aesthetic progression and purity of form. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, with sections of the road modified from its original design and the rest areas mostly gone, writers for The New York Times have variously described the Taconic as "a pleasure to use, evoking those bygone days when people went for

New York State Route 9A - Misplaced Pages Continue

3392-680: Is the second-longest continuous road listed on the Register after Virginia's Skyline Drive , and the longest limited-access highway. The parkway continues to provide access to several state parks, including Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park . It has also become an important regional artery, one of the primary routes to northern New England and the Capital Region of New York from the Hudson Valley , New York City and Long Island . The southern sections, particularly in Westchester County, have become

3498-406: Is vested in the federal states of Germany. Most federal states use the term Landesstraße (marked with 'L'), while for historical reasons Saxony and Bavaria use the term Staatsstraße (marked with 'S'). The appearance of the shields differs from state to state. The term Land-es-straße should not be confused with Landstraße , which describes every road outside built-up areas and

3604-596: The Lincoln Tunnel . NY 9A was cut back to the Lincoln Tunnel as a result. The extension of I-478 into Manhattan was eliminated following the collapse of part of the Elevated Highway in 1973, an event which led to the demolition of the highway south of 59th Street . Demolition was completed in 1989. NY 9A was shifted onto 12th Avenue , one of the surface streets that the Elevated Highway had run atop of, but

3710-476: The NY 23 exit near the hamlet of Martindale. It bends from the northerly heading back to the northeast to cross into Philmont over the next three miles (4.8 km), where NY 217 comes to its eastern terminus at the exit with the Taconic. Past a rise beyond that exit, there are scenic overlook parking areas on both sides of the highway with panoramic views west to the Catskills. The road curves into

3816-465: The State Senate in 1910, Roosevelt had toured the district in a car, still not common in the area, the first candidate to do so. He became more interested in the possibilities of automobile touring ten years later when, paralysis resulting from polio having cost the effective use of his legs, Roosevelt began frequently taking his friends on such trips around the region. During them, he began pondering

3922-550: The Staten Island Ferry ; however, it is unclear whether NY 9A would have continued south with US 9 to lower Manhattan. The New York Automobile Club released another plan in 1933. This plan made no changes to NY 9A; however, US 9 was changed to use Broadway all the way through the Bronx and to travel to New Jersey by way of the Holland Tunnel . In the final plan implemented in mid-December 1934, no route

4028-609: The Strada statale 7 Via Appia , which broadly follows the route of the Roman road of the same name . Other examples are the Strada statale 1 Via Aurelia ( Via Aurelia ) and the Strada statale 4 Via Salaria ( Via Salaria ). Since the reforms following the birth of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861, the State took charge of the construction and maintenance of a primary network of roads for connections between

4134-512: The 1920s when an alternate route of then- NY 6 from Yonkers to Tarrytown was designated as NY 6A . NY 6 was redesignated as US 9 in 1927; however, NY 6A was not renumbered to NY 9A until the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York . NY 9A was extended south into New York City in 1934 and north to Ossining in the late 1930s. In 1933, the Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway opened as NY 404 . All of NY 404

4240-494: The 9/11 attacks, the area and streets surrounding the World Trade Center , including NY 9A, was damaged and covered with debris when the towers collapsed , subsequently closing the highway and all streets at ground zero. During the construction of the new World Trade Center, both sides of the highway was narrowed with solid lines for lanes, indicating to drivers not to change lanes. State highway Roads maintained by

4346-531: The Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway, was completed c.  1933 and initially designated as NY 404. On January 1, 1949, NY 9A was altered to continue north along a slightly realigned Saw Mill River Road from NY 100C near Elmsford to the south end of the Briarcliff–Peekskill Parkway in Briarcliff Manor. At this point, NY 9A left Saw Mill River Road and followed the parkway to its end at US 9, supplanting NY 404. The realignment created

New York State Route 9A - Misplaced Pages Continue

4452-612: The Henry Hudson Bridge) are owned by the New York State Department of Transportation , the portion between 72nd and 125th Streets is owned by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and the entire highway within city limits is maintained on a daily basis by the New York City Department of Transportation . The concurrency between US 9 and NY 9A runs for 2.87 miles (4.62 km) within

4558-756: The Holland Tunnel. US 9 was shifted northward to enter New Jersey via the George Washington Bridge . In Westchester County , Saw Mill River Road originally followed the Saw Mill River Parkway corridor from Eastview to Hawthorne . This section of Saw Mill River Road gained a number c.  1931 , becoming part of NY 142, a route that began at NY 100 on the Greenburgh – Mount Pleasant town line and followed Grasslands Road, NY 9A, and Saw Mill River Road north to Hawthorne, where it rejoined NY 100. The route went unchanged until it

4664-530: The Interstate Highway, the parkway bends to the northwest and starts to assume the character it retains through most of Dutchess County, with a wider, intermittently cleared median and gentler turns (their radii reaching almost 23,000 feet (7,000 m), more than twice that of the widest curve in Putnam County ), taking it through the now lower hills. There are still no shoulders. A closed rest area sits in

4770-562: The National Highway or National Route systems are marked under the State Route system. They can be recognised by blue shield markers. They were practically adopted in all states by the end of the 1980s, and in some states, some less important National Routes were downgraded to State Routes. Each state has or had its own numbering scheme, but do not duplicate National Route numbers in the same state, or nearby routes in another state. As with

4876-468: The National Routes and National Highways, State Routes are being phased out in most states and territories in favour of alphanumeric routes. However, despite the fact that Victoria has fully adopted alphanumeric routes in regional areas, state route numbers are still used extensively within the city of Melbourne as a part of its Metropolitan Route Numbering Scheme . Brazil is another country that

4982-497: The Taconic "as lovely an integration of highway engineering and landscape architecture as one could hope to find". Commenting on this years later, architecture critic Matthew Gandy wrote: Clarke's design for the Taconic State Parkway, for example, provides a vivid example of a new kind of mediation among nature, technology and society, with what appears to be a delicate balance between the new infrastructural project and an imaginary natural order. Implicit within this aesthetic dialectic

5088-571: The Taconic starts leveling out in Dutchess County, the largest county segment of any of the four counties along the road, entering the town of East Fishkill . Just south of the Miller Hill Road exit, the first in the county, the road widens, with grassy slopes on its east side. At this point the hills farther north are visible in the distance, and the valley to the west, between Hosner and Shenandoah mountains, opens up occasional scenic vistas to

5194-508: The Taconic's construction, often on site. Some features of the road's design address practical considerations and increase safety. Curves that climbed or descended were banked to increase vehicle traction and permit better drainage. Likewise the curves in undulating terrain are located to reduce blind spots at crests and keep the sharpest turns out of valleys. These also make sure that views of distant landscapes open up on downgrades and on long curves, when they are less distracting. Closer to

5300-646: The Welcher Avenue interchange in southern Peekskill . Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Highway System , US 9 was designated as NY 6 . An alternate route from Yonkers to Tarrytown was assigned the NY ;6A designation by 1926. This ran along the present alignment of NY 9A from Yonkers to north of Elmsford , where it turned west on Old Saw Mill River Road, Neperan Road, County House Road and Bedford Road to end at NY 6 in Tarrytown. NY 6

5406-611: The automobile in American society and the demand for more public parks near crowded cities. Two separate agencies, the Taconic State Park Commission (TSPC) and Westchester County Parks Commission (WCPC), were its initial constructors, building different segments. In time a state authority would take over from them both, and then 18 years later itself yield up to its current administrator, the state Department of Transportation . It would take nearly four decades to complete from

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5512-507: The beauty of not only the surrounding landscape and views it offers, but the way the road itself integrates with and presents them. It was completed in its present form in the early 1960s. In 2005, the entire highway, including its supporting structures, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historic importance in the development of parkways in the 20th century, and Roosevelt's role in creating it. It

5618-543: The change in its role from park access route and scenic drive to important regional transportation artery. Immigration and industrialization caused a major increase in New York City's population in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the summertime, many of these newer residents began looking for places to get away from the hot city and the densely populated tenements they lived in. The city's own parks and beaches were often overcrowded. Automobiles became more affordable, and by 1917 there were more cars than horses in

5724-619: The cities of the Central Valley , Route 128 in Massachusetts, or parts of Route 101 in New Hampshire). Each state has its own system for numbering and its own marker. The default marker is a white circle containing a black sans serif number (often inscribed in a black square or slightly rounded square), according to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). However each state

5830-566: The city of Yonkers . All of NY 9A within Yonkers is maintained by the city. NY 9A separates from US 9 along Ashburton Avenue and heads north as Saw Mill River Road. It parallels the Saw Mill River Parkway through Ardsley and Elmsford , to the west side of Hawthorne . The route meets the southbound New York State Thruway ( I-87 ) at a partial interchange and later meets I-287 (the Cross Westchester Expressway ) at

5936-527: The city. Drivers began taking to low-quality roads in search of parks outside the city, but were often disappointed after long drives to find that most of those parks were closed to nonresidents. In 1900, New York and New Jersey had jointly acquired the Palisades , the cliffs along the west side of the Hudson in both states, to protect them from further damage due to quarrying . Making it a park for city residents to visit on hot summer weekends had not been part of

6042-793: The city. In this plan, NY 9A went south through the Bronx and into Manhattan on Broadway while US 9 used Riverdale Avenue north of 230th Street . As a result, the two routes would have had a short concurrency across Spuyten Duyvil Creek . NY 9A would have split to the south on Tenth Avenue at 218th Street in order to join the Harlem River Drive via Nagle Avenue and Dyckman Street . From there it would head west on 155th Street to Amsterdam Avenue , where it would head south to 79th Street , heading west there to rejoin US ;9 at Riverside Drive . US 9 would have continued south through lower Manhattan to Staten Island via

6148-409: The commission relied on state DPW engineers for the rest of the construction. Most of the original parkway was surfaced in reinforced concrete . Officials favored it despite its higher initial cost as compared to asphalt since it was less likely to need repair over its 50-year lifespan and reflected more light at night, improving safety. Asphalt was used for repaving of segments to the south; today

6254-578: The early days of construction. Some aspects of the original road remained consistent from end to end. The Westchester County sections were laid out by the county's parks commission based on the parkways they had already designed. Its engineers later worked on the design of the upper sections. In its early days, the Taconic State Parks Commission (TSPC) lacked the money to hire a full engineering staff, in spite of terrain that presented some major challenges. Its engineer, E.J. Howe, on loan from

6360-525: The east in the process then resumes its roughly northward heading up the Roaring Creek valley into Clarence Fahnestock State Park . For the next 5.5 miles (8.9 km) it will cross this 14,000-acre (5,700 ha) protected area of the eastern Hudson Highlands , with no development visible from the highway. The roadways begin to separate as the parkway's ascent continues through heavily wooded terrain past rocky cliffs and outcrops between two lakes. Next to

6466-447: The east. Just north of it, a short fork allows traffic to divert to NY 9A and 100, which split away toward Ossining . The Taconic continues north through a minimally developed area of low hills, past another exit serving Pleasantville, and then across another town line into New Castle . Route 100 returns to parallel the highway on the west again, then joins NY 133 at the next exit, serving Ossining and Millwood . About

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6572-462: The first time at the east end of the George Washington Bridge . After crossing into the Bronx via the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority -owned Henry Hudson Bridge , NY 9A proceeds to leave the parkway at exit 23, joining US 9 on Broadway. The portions of NY 9A between Lower Manhattan and 72nd Street, and from 125th Street to the New York City line (with the exception of

6678-473: The idea of a north–south parkway through the eastern Hudson Valley. In 1922, as part of its political reform efforts, the New York State Association (NYSA) published A State Park Plan For New York , the first such comprehensive plan for any state's parks. New York's few parks at that time had been managed by a loose combination of public and private interests, and all the land had been donated to

6784-490: The initial parkway proposal by TSPC chair Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1925 to the opening of the last segment in 1963, due in part to a lengthy hiatus resulting from World War II . Construction technology and highway design standards changed during the construction of the road, changes whose effect is still visible to drivers today. Since its completion it has been renovated, particularly in Dutchess and Westchester counties, reflecting

6890-447: The landscape." Albany-born novelist William Kennedy , whose family frequently drove the Taconic during his childhood to visit relatives farther south, called it "a 110-mile [180 km] postcard. It's the most beautiful road I've ever known—in all seasons." "You can drive it with confidence", said automotive writer David E. Davis . "There are no bad surprises about the way the road is engineered." Landscape architect Garret Eckbo called

6996-420: The last decades, with residential subdivisions and golf courses replacing the silos and haystacks as landmarks off the road. A long curve back to the northwest again takes the Taconic to the first of its two interchanges with NY 82 , at Arthursburg. Almost a mile to its north, the Arthursburg Road at-grade crossing was closed, and a southbound off-ramp and on-ramp were built. The road bends back north into

7102-494: The longest in the U.S. state of New York . It follows a generally north–south route midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut and Massachusetts state lines, much of its upper section along the westernmost flank of the Taconic Mountains . It is open only to passenger vehicles, as with other parkways in New York, and maintained by the state Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the fourth agency to have that responsibility. Franklin D. Roosevelt , who had long envisioned

7208-417: The lower sections of the Taconic, save for sections like Fahnestock State Park where designers used them to enhance the scenic capabilities of the road and create recreational opportunities. As the road was extended north during the 1930s, it became clear that the wider medians improved safety without sacrificing beauty, and starting with the NY 52 exit in East Fishkill they were made a standard element of

7314-429: The main cities; in 1865 the Lanza law introduced the classification of roads between national, provincial and municipal (see Annex F, art.10) and the Royal Decree of 17 November 1865, n. 2633 listed the first 38 national roads. Italian state highways are identified by a number and a name. In road signs and maps the number is preceded by the acronym SS, an acronym for strada statale ("state road"). The nomenclature of

7420-400: The median between I-84 and the NY 52 exit two miles (3.2 km) farther north. The road then bends back toward the northeast, reverting to a four-lane expressway , narrowing again through some wooded stretches over the next few miles to the Beekman Road ( County Route 9 or CR 9) exit. This area, rural and agricultural when the highway was built, has become more developed in

7526-427: The next important roads under the National highways . The number has two, three, or four digits. Highways with two-digit numbers routes are called State-funded local highways. State roads ( Turkish : Devlet yolu ) are primary roads, mostly under the responsibility of General Directorate of Highways (KGM) except in metropolitan city centers where the responsibility falls into the local government. The roads have

7632-469: The north separates that grade crossing from the one with Hollow Road ( CR 14 ) and takes the road into the town of Clinton . Another half-mile (800 m) north, at the next exit, NY 115 has its eastern terminus while Salt Point Turnpike continues. A slight western slant continues as the parkway traverses a landscape now thoroughly rural, with fields and woodlots alternating. Two more grade crossings, at Willow and Pumpkin lanes, follow through

7738-451: The original concrete remains only between the US ;44 and northern NY 82 exits. The changes in the design of the northern Taconic also reflect higher speeds that mid-century automobiles were capable of, and improvements in construction technology. The track -equipped steam shovels that broke ground for the first section in Putnam County in 1931 were the most advanced excavators of

7844-472: The park leaving to the east at grade from the northbound lanes where the highway enters the town of Taghkanic . Another half-mile (800 m) to the north is the second interchange with NY 82. North of that exit, the parkway bends to the northeast again, paralleling the orientation of the county as a whole. It crosses briefly into the town of Claverack , then back into Taghkanic before reentering Claverack as it heads due east briefly, then north again into

7950-413: The parkway and carrying it over roads, were faced in native stone. Grade intersections, usually a feature engineers tried to avoid, which initially helped keep local east–west routes open and connect the parkway to the landscape it traversed, have since either been closed or replaced by overpasses. As a result, the Taconic has been the subject of much praise over the years not only for its vistas but for

8056-629: The parkway and ran concurrent with US 9 to the split in Yonkers . The Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel connecting Manhattan's Battery Park to Brooklyn was completed in 1950. By 1960, an extension of the West Side Elevated Highway south to the Manhattan tunnel portal became part of NY 27A , which had ended in Brooklyn prior to the construction of the tunnel. On January 1, 1970, NY 27A

8162-407: The parkway crosses into Putnam County . The road narrows shortly after the county line in the town of Putnam Valley , with the roadways reverting to two lanes and the shoulders replaced by soft curbs, in preparation for the rugged terrain of the next 12 miles (19 km). From this point north, the original design of the Taconic is still intact for the most part, aside from safety improvements like

8268-423: The parkway until it reaches one of its straightest stretches, which then curves to the first grade-separated exit in several miles, US 44 , the other main route to Poughkeepsie, between Millbrook and Pleasant Valley. The road passes through a much more wooded area as it makes a long curve into its next junction, the grade intersection at Hibernia Road. A bridge over Wappinger Creek 0.1 miles (160 m) to

8374-411: The parkway's design. Wider medians were also a lot easier to build in Dutchess and Columbia counties, as the land is much flatter than in Putnam County. When the parkway was modernized and widened in Westchester County, wide medians were installed for most of the length between the Sprain Brook Parkway and the Putnam County line. The Taconic came into being as a result due to the increasing presence of

8480-551: The plan, but it quickly became one. Many residents could not get to it because of insufficient ferry capacity. Its success as a park led to the establishment of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission and the construction of Palisades Interstate Parkway to allow nonstop drives through scenic and wooded areas through Palisades Park up to the Bear Mountain Bridge . During his successful campaign for

8586-568: The removal of all at-grade intersections. Curves become sharper, with the widest having a radius of 11,459 feet (3,493 m). It remains generally level for the first two miles (3.2 km), past the Bryant Pond Road exit serving Mahopac . The land around the road is heavily wooded and less developed than in Westchester. One mile (1.6 km) to the north, the road begins to descend 350 feet (110 m) in 1.1 miles (1.8 km) alongside

8692-484: The ridges between the Hudson Valley and the Taconic Mountains along the state borders to the east, offers mountain and hilltop vistas as the road itself continues to curve gently through bucolic surroundings. This winding route contributes to its 104.12-mile (167.56 km) length, which makes the Taconic New York State's longest parkway. The Taconic begins at Kensico Circle, just south of Kensico Dam , in

8798-538: The road returns to a northerly course, an exit allows entrance to Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park . It is followed by the Crompond Road ( U.S. Route 202 or US 202 and NY 35 ) exit, which serves Peekskill to the west as well as Yorktown. Just beyond it, the Bear Mountain State Parkway , a legacy of the Taconic's original planned route and purpose, leaves to the west as the road drops into

8904-499: The road, on the northern sections in Columbia and Dutchess counties, the road was routed to showcase a nearby view of wooded hillside or a farm. Since trucks were not permitted on the road—for some time, this even included privately owned pickup trucks used solely for personal use—in many sections tree branches overhang the roadways, creating a park-like canopy. The curve of the northbound AMVETS Memorial Bridge over Croton Reservoir echoes

9010-576: The southbound lanes via an underpass with on/off ramp. The two roadways descend and come together again by the Mountain Road grade crossing. It climbs a hill after the McDonnell Road crossing, then descends to the Rossway Road crossing. A quarter-mile (400 m) to the north, a dead-end road leaves the northbound lanes for the nearby Taconic–Hereford Multiple Use Area. Several other local roads cross

9116-631: The state highways managed by ANAS generally follows the SS n scheme, where n is a number ranging from 1 ( Aurelia ) up to 700 (of the Royal Palace of Caserta ) depending on the date of establishment of the state highway. Newly built ANAS roads, not yet classified, are identified by the acronym NSA, an acronym for nuova strada ANAS ("new ANAS road"). State highways can be technically defined as main extra-urban roads (type B road) or as secondary extra-urban roads (type C road). State highways that cross towns with

9222-428: The state's Department of Public Works (DPW), frequently complained about the commission's directive that he plan a route only where it had the land or expected to buy it, instead of planning a route and then buying the land. He also began negotiations with landowners, and his position was eliminated from the commission's budget after three years. His successor clashed with his superiors as well, and after he left in 1933

9328-414: The stone arch bridge carrying Legion Drive over the parkway, the first of many such rustic overpasses, the Taconic begins a long section going past Gate of Heaven Cemetery and paralleling the railroad tracks past the small Mount Pleasant Metro-North train station, built to allow access to the surrounding cemetery of that name. The road then becomes a four-lane freeway and crosses over the train line into

9434-464: The surrounding hills. On the medians and berms, plantings were carefully planned to maintain continuity with the surrounding woods. On the descent into Peekskill Hollow in Putnam Valley , the trees and shrubs above the retaining wall on the east side were transplanted from the path of the highway, which retained the appearance of the local forest and saved money. Overpasses, both carrying roads over

9540-414: The time. Over the next decade, the cost of moving a cubic yard dropped to almost half of what it had been in the early 1920s. Later in the parkway's development, engineers began using aerial photographs to plan the route. The road's drainage system had some special features designed to avoid detracting from its scenic qualities. The roadway was crowned, with storm drain grates at the edge since there

9646-420: The town of Ghent , with two more at-grade intersections, one of which being Rigor Hill Road, which features a gas station right on the side of the parkway. The Taconic continues to the north from here for five miles (8.0 km) more, crossing into the town of Chatham , with an exit for NY 203 shortly after. The parkway continues north through Chatham, where signs warn drivers that the NY 295 exit

9752-410: The town of LaGrange to the next exit a half-mile (800 m) beyond, at Noxon Road ( CR 21 ), a new exit accessible only to northbound traffic via an off-ramp. The road widens through a wooded area and then narrows past another service area just before Todd Hill Road. The road drops to cross a creek, then rises again to the NY 55 exit, one of two roads serving the city of Poughkeepsie to

9858-473: The town of Milan and climbs slowly through generally wooded area, passing another grade crossing at Cold Spring Road. The next exit, at NY 199 , is the last in Dutchess County. After another long bend east, the Taconic goes north again and crosses into Columbia County just past Roeliff Jansen Kill Multiple Use Area and the Jackson Corners Road ( CR 2 ) exit. The parkway terrain in Columbia

9964-517: The town of North Castle , also the northern terminus of the Bronx River Parkway . The roadway here is a narrow, four-lane expressway . It curves northwest to a traffic light at Cleveland Street in the hamlet of Valhalla . The Valhalla station on Metro-North Railroad 's Harlem Line is on the west side, with the downtown area on the east. It is the only densely developed community the road goes through rather than near. After crossing under

10070-539: The two bridges over New Croton Reservoir , part of the New York City water supply system . Once on the other side, in the town of Yorktown, they converge again to their previous width. The next exit, at Underhill Avenue, provides access to downtown Yorktown and the reservoir. Past the Baldwin Road exit a half mile (0.80 km) north of Underhill, the Taconic curves westward along the south side of Mohansic Lake . When

10176-501: The way it harmonizes with the surrounding landscape. Sociologist Lewis Mumford , who often criticized the effect of superhighway construction on contemporary cities, always advised friends traveling up from New York to visit him at his house in Amenia that they should take the Taconic. He described it as "a consummate work of art, fit to stand on a par with our loftiest creations". The engineers, he said, had avoided "brutal assaults against

10282-425: The west, near Freedom Plains . Its slow undulation with the landscape continues past the now closed Skidmore Road grade crossing as it heads due north into the town of Pleasant Valley and the less developed half of Dutchess County. The roadways separate widely (750 feet or 230 metres) again for a mile in the woods east of James Baird State Park . An entry road forks to the left from the northbound lanes and crosses

10388-522: The west. A grade crossing with a flashing overhead warning beacon was replaced in 2000 by a grade-separated exit, making the Appalachian Trail 's crossing here less hazardous. The Taconic levels off into a narrow section bearing due northeast along Hosner Mountain's steep west slope, with stone walls on either side. This ends after a mile with the Interstate ;84 (I-84) interchange. North of

10494-518: The word "state" in this sense means "government" or "public" (as in state housing and state schools ), not a division of a country. New Zealand's state highway system is a nationwide network of roads covering the North Island and the South Island . As of 2006, just under 100 roads have a "State Highway" designation. The NZ Transport Agency administers them. The speed limit for most state highways

10600-568: Was assigned to the Harlem River Drive–Amsterdam Avenue corridor. Instead, NY 9A used what had been planned as US 9, splitting at Broadway and Dyckman Street . NY 9A ran south along the west side of Manhattan on Riverside Drive and the West Side Elevated Highway (detouring around an unfinished section via 57th Street , Eleventh Avenue and 48th Street ) to end at the entrance and exit plazas of

10706-644: Was incorporated into an extended NY 9A on January 1, 1949. NY 9A was extended northward to Peekskill in 1967 following the completion of the Croton Expressway and southward to the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel in the mid-1990s. NY 9A begins in Lower Manhattan at Battery Place near the north end of the Brooklyn–;Battery Tunnel (unsigned I-478 ) and heads north on the West Side Highway and Henry Hudson Parkway , crossing US 9 for

10812-473: Was no shoulder , to keep water from forming deep puddles that could cause accidents (these have been eliminated from modernized sections of the parkway in Westchester). The soft hand- fluted curbs also helped channel runoff to the basins, and in the median strips a central trench took water to underground pipes which drain into local streams. The median strips themselves were not part of the original design on

10918-480: Was otherwise unaffected as the route's south end was initially kept at the Lincoln Tunnel. In the mid-1990s, NY 9A was extended south to the Battery Tunnel by way of 12th Avenue and two other streets the Elevated Highway had previously run atop of, West Street and 11th Avenue . Construction began in early 1996 on a project to convert the section of NY 9A south of 59th Street into the West Side Highway ,

11024-493: Was redesignated as US 9 when U.S. Highways were first posted in New York in 1927; however, NY 6A was not renumbered at this time. It was finally renumbered to NY 9A as part of the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York . New York City initially did not mark numbered routes within its limits. In 1932, the New York Automobile Club drafted a plan establishing alignments for several routes through

11130-597: Was removed c.  1938 . Its former routing was split into two routes—an extended NY 141 north of NY 9A and the new NY 100C along Grasslands Road—by 1940. NY 9A was extended northward c.  1939 from Tarrytown to Archville, a small hamlet midway between Tarrytown and Ossining, by way of Sleepy Hollow Road. Farther north, a new limited-access parkway was built around Ossining from Saw Mill River Road (NY 100) in Briarcliff Manor to US 9 north of Ossining. The parkway, known as

11236-482: Was truncated on its western end to eastern Nassau County while NY 27 was extended northward over NY 27A's former routing through the Battery Tunnel and the West Side Elevated Highway. However, by 1973, NY 27 had been cut back to its interchange with the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn while unsigned I-478 was assigned to both the Battery Tunnel and all of the West Side Elevated Highway south of

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