Planning The 1929 Report on Highway Traffic Conditions and Proposed Traffic Relief Measures for the City of New York was the first citywide traffic study, classifying a number of projects that had been proposed by local interests. A "Cross-Bronx Route" along 161st and 163rd Streets was one of two proposed facilities, along with the "Nassau Boulevard" (which became the
Long Island Expressway), picked by borough engineers as examples of important projects. Although this routing was south of the present Cross Bronx Expressway, the report did suggest a "New Cross-Bronx Artery" near the present expressway that would link the
Washington Bridge with the
Clason Point Ferry to
Queens. Though it would not be built to
freeway standards, it would be 60 feet (18 m) wide with
grade separations "where considered necessary and desirable." The
George Washington Bridge, then under construction, was cited among reasons to build the highway which would help connect
New Jersey to
Long Island via the bridges and ferry. In 1936, the
Regional Plan Association (RPA) proposed a highway that would connect the Bronx to
New England and points north. In late 1940, the
New York City Planning Commission adopted a plan for a network of highways. Except for the
Bronx and Pelham Parkway, which lay to the north, no cross-Bronx highway had been built up to this point. The report stated that the "Bronx Crosstown Highway", which would now connect on the east end to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge (which had replaced the Clason Point Ferry), was "an essential part of a desirable highway pattern", taking traffic from the George Washington Bridge to Long Island and New England. The cost was estimated at $17 million, higher than most improvements because of the "topographical conditions, high land values, and heavily built-up areas".
Construction In the 1940s, city planner
Robert Moses proposed the construction of a system of highways that would traverse the New York City area. The plan was to cost $800 million (equivalent to $ in ), and, in February 1945, the city agreed to pay $60 million (equivalent to $ in ) of that cost. That November, the city, state, and federal governments agreed to fund several new highways in New York City. Among these was the Cross Bronx Expressway, which was to cost $38.67 million. The expressway was to continue onto the
181st Street Bridge at its western end, connecting with the
178th–179th Street Tunnels and the
George Washington Bridge via a set of ramps. At its eastern end, the expressway would connect with the
Hutchinson River Parkway and
New England Thruway at the
Bruckner Interchange. The
New York City Board of Estimate approved a contract in February 1946, allowing the Tenant Relocation Bureau to relocate 540 families who lived on the expressway's right-of-way. The
New York City Council adopted a resolution the next month, asking the Board of Estimate to delay the relocations, which were scheduled to start that June. City officials said that only 55 families would be relocated in 1946 and that all existing residents would be relocated before construction started. By late 1947, the city and state governments were relocating residents in the expressway's path. The city and state started soliciting bids for construction contracts that December. Although the city and state planned to demolish 164 structures on the expressway's right-of-way, they were reluctant to raze all of the structures immediately because of a housing shortage in New York City. The city government was able to obtain this land through the
eminent domain process. Construction of the expressway began in 1948. A 112-foot
open cut was excavated, accommodating six traffic lanes and four cobblestone shoulders. This project proved to be one of the most difficult expressway projects at the time; construction required blasting through ridges, crossing valleys and redirecting small rivers. In doing so, minimal disruption to the apartment buildings that topped the ridges in the area of
Grand Concourse was a priority. The highway also passed by hundreds of utility, water and sewer lines, none of which could be interrupted. The highway was to contain 54 bridges and three tunnels when it was completed. in part because of material shortages. The Gull Construction Company was contracted to build this segment in May 1949, and Rusciano & Sons was hired the same month to build the footings for six bridges along the expressway. In addition, Frederick H. Zurmuhlen was supervising the construction of a bridge over Westchester Creek at a cost of $5,287,000; the ten-lane bridge was to supplement a surface-level span. Engineering firms Andrews & Clark and Hardesty & Hanover were hired to supervise the project later in 1949. A short segment near Bruckner Boulevard opened in 1950 and was the first part of the expressway to be completed. The state government hired the J. Kaufman Demolition Company in 1951 to raze structures on the right-of-way east of the Bronx River Parkway. By early 1953, part of the highway east of the Bronx River Parkway was also being constructed. The segment was six lanes wide; its original western end was at Rosedale Avenue, where ramps connected to the northbound Bronx River Parkway. A one-mile (1.5 km) western extension from the Bronx River Parkway to a temporary interchange at Longfellow Avenue, near Boston Road, opened on April 23, 1956. When the
Throgs Neck Bridge to
Queens opened on January 11, 1961, the Cross Bronx was extended east as one of the bridge's two northern approaches.—also became part of the
Interstate Highway System. The Cross Bronx Expressway Extension and the Clearview Expressway were originally designated as part of
I-78, which was to continue through Queens,
Brooklyn, and
Manhattan to the
Holland Tunnel. Ultimately, most of I-78 was canceled in 1971.
Central section The section of the Cross Bronx Expressway between Anthony and Longfellow Avenues was highly controversial. In early 1953, Bronx
borough president James J. Lyons proposed relocating the Cross Bronx Expressway near
Crotona Park in order to preserve 1,000 houses in the expressway's right-of-way. Under Lyons's plan, the highway would curve slightly southward and run along the northern edge of Crotona Park, creating a "kink" in the routing. Moses, who called Lyons's proposal "unreasonable", threatened to resign from his position as city construction coordinator if Lyons's alternative was approved. Moses also threatened to cancel federal funding for the entire project. After an acrimonious public hearing in April 1953, the Board of Estimate could not agree on whether to relocate the expressway along Crotona Park. State officials supported Moses's original plan, saying that the Crotona Park alternative would create "curves and reverse curves of sub-standard radius". By 1954, the project's cost had increased to $86 million, but land for the western section of the expressway had not even been purchased, leading
The New York Times to describe the existing sections as a "road to nowhere". In November 1954, the Board of Estimate voted unanimously to buy land for the section between Anthony and Longfellow Avenues, despite continued opposition from Bronx residents. At the time, officials estimated that the central section of the expressway would cost $21 million. Of this cost, $8 million would be spent on acquiring the land and relocating 1,462 families. Construction of the section between exits 3 and 2B began in early 1958, at which point the project's total cost had increased to $101 million. The most expensive part of the project was the segment between exits 2B and 2A in
Tremont, Bronx, which was planned to cost $11.788 million; it included a tunnel under the Grand Concourse and the underground
Concourse Line, as well as an open cut that passed under five avenues. On April 27, 1960, another 1.2-mile (2 km) piece opened, taking the road west to a temporary terminus at Webster Avenue. Later that year, the westernmost of the expressway was closed to allow the completion of the Tremont section. The 0.6-mile (1 km) Tremont segment from Webster Avenue west to Jerome Avenue opened on February 10, 1961. By that time, all construction contracts for the remaining sections of the expressway had been awarded. The widening was finished by 1950, and the tunnel and interchange opened on May 5, 1952. Originally, there had not been any plans to construct an interchange with the Major Deegan Expressway, at the highway's western end, because of the area's steep topography and limited space. In December 1952, the city and state reached an agreement to finance the construction of an interchange at that site. Plans for the western end of the expressway were modified substantially after the
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced in 1957 that it would construct a lower deck on the George Washington Bridge. To accommodate the additional traffic from the George Washington Bridge, the
Trans-Manhattan Expressway and
Alexander Hamilton Bridge were to be constructed, connecting the George Washington Bridge and the Cross Bronx Expressway. The revised plans were announced in 1958. At the time, the Alexander Hamilton Bridge was planned to be completed in 1962, but the interchange with the Major Deegan would not open until two years after that. The project had cost $128 million. The state government also surveyed 30 overpasses across the highway in response to complaints that the overpasses' short railings posed a hazard to pedestrians. Additionally, two major interchanges were still incomplete when the expressway's final segment opened: the Highbridge Interchange with the Major Deegan Expressway (
I-87), and the
Bruckner Interchange with the
Bruckner Expressway (
I-95/
I-278), the
Hutchinson River Parkway, and the Hutchinson River Expressway (
I-678). The reconstruction of the Bruckner Interchange, The rebuilt interchange, allowing Bruckner Expressway traffic to bypass the old
traffic circle, opened on January 2, 1972, at a cost of $68 million. Cross Bronx traffic passing through to the
Throgs Neck Bridge had been able to avoid the circle, but drivers taking the Bruckner in either direction, including those bound for New England, had to exit onto the surface.
2000s to present The
New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) conducted a study in the early 2000s to address some of the negative community impacts (see ) that the expressway's construction had caused. The study proposed several alternatives, including widening the highway near the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, or building a park or pedestrian and bicycle paths above the highway. The following June, the New York state and city governments began hosting meetings with local residents to determine how to reconnect neighborhoods that had been split during the expressway's construction. The state government planned to finalize the designs for the five new bridges by late 2024; at the time, the project was scheduled to take four years. Several environmental groups objected to the bridge replacement, saying that the state government had not solicited enough feedback from local residents. Local residents also expressed concerns that the project would require the temporary closure of part of
Starlight Park. By 2025, the Cross Bronx Expressway repairs had received about $900 million in funding, and the NYSDOT was considering ways to mitigate impacts from the project. ==Effects==