Interstate 487

This article is about the cancelled Hudson River Expressway. For the former alignment of I-487 in Westchester County, see Interstate 287.

Interstate 487 marker

Interstate 487
Route information
Length: 47 mi[1] (76 km)
History: Proposed in 1965;[1] cancelled in 1971[2]
Major junctions
South end: I-87 / I-287 in The Bronx
North end: I-84 near Beacon
Location
Counties: Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess
Highway system
← NY 481NY 488 →

Interstate 487 (I-487) was a proposed intrastate Interstate Highway in the Hudson Valley region of New York in the United States. At its greatest extent, the highway, known as the Hudson River Expressway (HRE), was to run for 47 miles (76 km) on the east side of the Hudson River from I-87 in the Bronx to I-84 east of Beacon. It was met with opposition from its introduction in 1965, leading the project to be gradually scaled back before it was cancelled completely in 1971. Ultimately, only one section was built, an 8-mile (13 km) stretch between Ossining and Peekskill. This road became known as the Croton Expressway and was designated as part of U.S. Route 9 (US 9).

History

The Hudson River Expressway was an idea dating back to the 1920s. It was originally planned as a 30-mile (48 km) parkway extending from Yonkers to Peekskill along the east side of the Hudson River; however, the road's $55 million price tag led to its cancellation. In 1936, the New York City-based Regional Plan Association introduced plans to build a freeway from the Bronx to Albany, paralleling US 9 between the two locations. The proposal was cancelled as a result of World War II.[3]

Another proposal surfaced in 1956 when the New York State Department of Public Works developed plans for a 30-mile (48 km) freeway between Tarrytown and Beacon.[3] The road would begin at the junction of I-87 and I-287 in Tarrytown and loosely parallel US 9 before ending at I-84 east of Beacon. It was initially designated as part of I-87, intended to fill a gap in the designation that existed from Tarrytown to Newburgh.[4] This highway was cancelled as well in the early 1960s, and the I-87 designation was shifted eastward onto another proposed highway near the eastern state line. This road was ultimately built as I-684.[4][5]

In May 1965, Governor Nelson Rockefeller introduced the Hudson River Expressway, a 47-mile (76 km) freeway connecting the Major Deegan Expressway (I-87) in the Bronx to I-84 in Beacon.[1] It was designated I-487, an auxiliary route of I-87. While previous proposals called for the road to be built slightly inland from the Hudson River, the new plan placed the highway directly on the riverbank. In some locations, the road would be built on fill extending into the river. The proposal was immediately met with opposition, and protests from residents led Rockefeller to cancel the section between the Bronx and Tarrytown in August of the same year. Two years later, the Peekskill–Beacon section was also cancelled.[3]

The only part of the HRE that was completed was the Croton Expressway, built in 1967 from Ossining to Peekskill and designated as US 9. The remaining 10.4 miles (16.7 km) of the HRE between Ossining and Tarrytown, by this point redesignated New York State Route 399 (NY 399),[3] were effectively cancelled on November 20, 1971, when Governor Rockefeller declared the Hudson River Expressway proposal "dead".[2] In 1970, the state of New York petitioned to have the I-487 designation reassigned to a 69-mile (111 km) West Dutchess Expressway connecting Tarrytown to Poughkeepsie. This proposal was denied by the Federal Highway Administration.[3]

Exit list

This list reflects the final incarnation of the Hudson River Expressway, which would have been located entirely within Westchester County and extended from the New York State Thruway in Tarrytown to the Croton Expressway in Ossining.[3]

LocationmikmDestinationsNotes
Tarrytown I-87 / New York Thruway / I-287Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Waterfront
Beekman Avenue
NY 117Proposed extension of Phelps Way
Town of OssiningRockledge Avenue
Village of OssiningBrayton Park, Crawbuckie Beach
US 9 / NY 9ASouth end of Croton Expressway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Governor Signs River Road Bill; Overrides Protests Against Hudson Expressway". The New York Times. May 30, 1965. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  2. 1 2 Bird, David (November 21, 1971). "Hudson Expressway Plan Is 'Dead,' Rockefeller Says". The New York Times. Retrieved September 2, 2008.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Anderson, Steve. "Croton Expressway". NYCRoads. Retrieved August 20, 2008.
  4. 1 2 New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Gulf Oil Company. 1960.
  5. ↑ New York and Metropolitan New York (Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Sinclair Oil Corporation. 1962.
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