New York State Route 440(NY 440) is afreewaylocated entirely onStaten IslandinNew York City.The route acts as a connector between the two segments ofNew Jersey Route 440,running from the Staten Island community ofRichmond Valleyin the south toPort Richmondin the north. NY 440 is connected to the two New Jersey segments by theOuterbridge Crossingto the south and theBayonne Bridgeto 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 NYS routes (NY 426being the other) that is the middle section of another state's highway bearing the same number. From theKorean War Veterans ParkwaytoInterstate 278(I-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.
 New York State Route 440 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Map of Staten Island in New York City with NY 440 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained byNYSDOTandPANYNJ | ||||
| Length | 12.73 mi[1][2](20.49 km) | |||
| Existed | 1949[3]–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |   Route 440/CR 501at theNew Jerseystate line | |||
 Korean War Veterans ParkwayinGreenridge I-278fromGranitevilletoBulls Head | ||||
| North end | Route 440/CR 501at the New Jersey state line | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | New York | |||
| Counties | Richmond | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
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NY 440 begins at theNew York–New Jerseystate line, mid-span on the east-westOuterbridge Crossingover theArthur Killin theRichmond Valleyneighborhood ofStaten Island.The four-lane bridge crosses east through Richmond Valley and overArthur Kill Road.
After entering Staten Island, NY 440 passes through atoll barrierfor 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 interchangewith theKorean War Veterans Parkway(the KWVP, though often referred to as the Richmond Parkway, its name until 1997) and a nearbypark and ride.At exit 2 in thePleasant Plainsneighborhood, NY 440 exits the right-of-way it entered on, which becomes the KWVP, 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 theRossvilleneighborhood, 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 Killscreek, and passes through a portion of theWilliam T. Davis Wildlife Refuge.West Shore continues through theChelsea-Travisneighborhood, accessible at exit 7 through a service road interchange withVictory Boulevard(itself previously designated as NY 439A, untilc. 1968).[5][6]
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 theBloomfieldneighborhood. 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 interchangewith the northwest-southeastStaten Island Expresswayportion 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 Avenueat 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., just north of a junction with Victory Boulevard. The Dr. MLK Jr. crosses north through Staten Island, with the neighborhoods ofGranitevillethenMariners Harboron the west side, whileWesterleighthenElm Park(technically a portion of thePort Richmondneighborhood) 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 collectiongantry (for traffic crossing from New Jersey over theBergen PointReach 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 440andCounty Route 501into the city ofBayonne.[4]
History
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NY 440 was initially designated in 1949, beginning at theOuterbridge Crossingand ending at theBayonne Bridge,as it does today; however, the route was originally routed on Drumgoole Boulevard andRichmond Avenuein 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 Parkand now part of theGateway National Recreation Area) on the island'sEast Shoreto the Bayonne Bridge viaEgbertvilleandBulls 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 Islandto 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 Boulevardwas 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 afreewayin 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-287designation eastward from its current terminus at theNew Jersey Turnpike(I-95) to Staten Island viaNew Jersey Route 440and the Richmond Parkway. The idea was eventually halted soon afterward. However, it is possible that theNYSDOTmay 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 rightsleader.[12]However, it is sometimes still called the Willowbrook Expressway by many locals today. The West Shore Expressway was ceremonially designated thePearl Harbor Veterans Expresswayby New York GovernorGeorge Patakiin 1999. However, the expressway's official name did not change.[21]
Exit list
editThe entire route is in theNew York CityboroughofStaten Island.
| Location | mi[1][2] | km | Exit | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arthur Kill | 0.00 | 0.00 |    Route 440south (CR 501west) toG.S. Parkway–New Jersey | Continuation intoNew Jersey | |
| 0.60 | 0.97 | Outerbridge Crossing(northbound toll;E-ZPassorpay-by-plate) | |||
| Charleston–Richmond Valley line | 0.67 | 1.08 | 1 | Page Avenue toHylan Boulevard/Arthur Kill Road Korean War Veterans Parkwaybegins | Signed for Hylan Boulevard northbound, Arthur Kill Road southbound; south end of Korean War Veterans Parkway overlap |
| 1.12 | 1.80 | 2 |  Korean War Veterans Parkwaynorth toRichmond Avenue–Park & Ride | North end of Korean War Veterans Parkway overlap | |
| Charleston–Rossville line | 2.05 | 3.30 | 3A | Englewood Avenue | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; opened September 30, 2014;[22]servesClay Pit Ponds State Park |
| 3 | Clay Pit Road | Northbound exit only; signed as Woodrow Road | |||
| 3B | Bloomingdale Road | No northbound exit | |||
| 3.73 | 6.00 | 4 | Arthur Kill Road/ Huguenot Avenue | ||
| Greenridge | 5.0 | 8.0 | 5 | Muldoon Avenue to Arden Avenue | Southbound exit only |
| Fresh Kills | 5.4 | 8.7 | Bridge | ||
| Travis–Chelsea line | 6.27 | 10.09 | 7 | Victory Boulevard | |
| 7.19 | 11.57 | 8 | South Avenue | ||
| Bloomfield | 7.8 | 12.6 | 9 | Glen Street | Northbound exit only; opened in 2001[23] |
| 9.21 | 14.82 | 5 |   I-278west –Goethals Bridge,Newark Airport | South end of I-278 overlap; exit number not signed northbound; servesHowland Hook Marine Terminal | |
| 9.22 | 14.84 | 6 | South Avenue | Southbound exit only | |
| Graniteville–Bulls Head line | 9.54 | 15.35 | 7 | Richmond Avenue | |
| 10.15– 10.31 | 16.33– 16.59 | 8 (NB) 11 (SB) | Victory Boulevard | FormerNY 439A | |
| 9 (NB) 10E (SB) |  I-278east –Verrazzano Bridge,Brooklyn | North end of I-278 overlap | |||
| Mariners Harbor–Elm Park line | 11.33 | 18.23 | 12 | Forest Avenue | FormerNY 439 |
| 12.0 | 19.3 | 13 | Morningstar Road to Richmond Terrace | Morningstar Road not signed northbound | |
| Kill Van Kull | 12.12 | 19.51 | Bayonne Bridge(southboundtoll gantry) | ||
| 12.78 | 20.57 |  Route 440north (CR 501north) –Jersey City | Continuation intoNew Jersey | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
See also
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References
edit- ^ab"2008 Traffic Volume Report for New York State"(PDF).New York State Department of Transportation.June 16, 2009. p. 235.RetrievedMay 11,2010.
- ^ab"Richmond County Inventory Listing"(CSV).New York State Department of Transportation. August 7, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 5,2017.
- ^abAnderson, Steve."State and US Roads in New York City".NYCRoads.Archived fromthe originalon February 19, 2014.RetrievedNovember 21,2007.
- ^abcdMicrosoft;Nokia."overview map of NY 440"(Map).Bing Maps.Microsoft.RetrievedSeptember 13,2012.
- ^Gousha Road Atlas – New York and vicinity(Map).H.M. Gousha Company.1967.RetrievedDecember 5,2009.
- ^abcNew York City and Vicinity including Long Island(Map) (1968–69 ed.).American Automobile Association.1968.
- ^abNew York(Map). Cartography byRand McNally and Company.Socony-Vacuum Oil Company.1950.
- ^New York(Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company.Sunoco.1952.
- ^New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map(Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company.Gulf Oil Company.1960.
- ^New York and Metropolitan New York(Map) (1961–62 ed.). Cartography byH.M. Gousha Company.Sunoco. 1961.
- ^New York(Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company.Mobil.1965.
- ^abAnderson, Steve."Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (NY 440)".NYCRoads.RetrievedMay 11,2010.
- ^O'Grady, Jim (November 22, 1998)."Neighborhood Report: Staten Island; Greenbelt Fans Want Routes Off the Maps".The New York Times.Retrieved26 August2018.
- ^State of New York Department of Transportation(January 1, 1970).Official Description of Touring Routes in New York State(PDF).RetrievedJanuary 3,2010.
- ^abNew York and New Jersey Tourgide Map(Map) (1972 ed.). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Gulf Oil Company. 1972.
- ^abNew York(Map) (1973 ed.). Cartography by H.M. Gousha Company.Shell Oil Company.1973.
- ^Herr, Charles (August 24, 1977).Description of Touring Routes in New York State for the Interstate (I), Federal (US) and State (NY) Route Number Systems.
{{cite book}}:Unknown parameter|agency=ignored (help) - ^New York and New Jersey Tourgide Map(Map). Cartography by Rand McNally and Company. Gulf Oil Company. 1974.
- ^New York(Map) (1977–78 ed.). Cartography byGeneral Drafting.Exxon.1977.
- ^Anderson, Steve."NJ 440 Freeway (Middlesex County Section)".NYCRoads.RetrievedMay 11,2010.
- ^Anderson, Steve."West Shore Expressway (NY 440)".NYCRoads.RetrievedMay 11,2010.
- ^"Governor Cuomo Announces Opening of Two West Shore Expressway Ramps".Governor of New York.September 30, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon October 6, 2014.RetrievedOctober 5,2014.
- ^Stein, Mark D. (July 15, 2010)."Freeways of a different sort".Staten Island Advance.RetrievedJanuary 27,2013.
External links
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