Harlem River Drive

The Harlem River Drive is a major freeway-standard parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs along the Harlem River from the Triborough Bridge to the George Washington Bridge and points further north in Manhattan. In 2003, the New York State Department of Transportation re-designated the parkway as the "369th Harlem Hellfighters Drive," in honor of the all-black regiment that fought to defend France during World War I.

History

The Drive originated as the Harlem River Speedway, which attracted horse owners. Genteel carriages were permitted, but not sulkies and drays in the initial years. Later, car drivers could could also race along the stretch of road. The dirt roadway stretched two and one-half miles from West 155th Street to West 208th Street.

Robert Moses envisioned the Harlem River Drive as a six-lane road linking the George Washington Bridge and the East River Drive (now the FDR Drive) north of East 125th Street. Traffic from the Triborough Bridge and the several Harlem River bridges joining the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx feed into the Drive. Sections of the old speedway in the path of the highway were incorporated into the new highway. Construction ended in 1964. The route as it stands today is unsigned New York State Reference Route 907P.

A four-lane viaduct rises from the Harlem River Drive to connect to both decks of the George Washington Bridge (via the Trans-Manhattan Expressway and to Amsterdam Avenue in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. The Harlem River Drive continues north to the Inwood section of Manhattan, where it ends with connections to Tenth Avenue and Dyckman Street.

Starting at the beginning of the 21st century, the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway runs between the river and the drive, from 155th to Dyckman, in a portion of Highbridge Park which had been abandoned and fenced off approximately half a century.

Exit list

The entire route is in Manhattan (New York County).

Mile	#	Destinations	Notes
END NORTH FDR Drive BEGIN NORTH Harlem River Drive Speed Limit 40
0.00	17	- Triborough Bridge (Harlem River lift bridge)	to The Bronx or Queens
Speed Limit 50 northbound, 40 southbound
	18	Willis Avenue Bridge - Mott Haven, The Bronx	Northbound exit
	19	E 127th St / 1st Ave	Northbound exit
	19	E 128 St / 2nd Ave	Southbound exit
	20	Park Ave	Southbound exit
	21	E 135 St / Madison Ave Madison Avenue Bridge to The Bronx	Northbound exit
	22	W 143 St / 5th Ave	Southbound exit
	23	Frederick Douglass Boulevard / E 155th St	Left exit; Northbound exit
	23	Harlem River Drive Service Road South	Southbound exit
	24	South to George Washington Bridge - Trans-Manhattan Expressway	to New Jersey only; Northbound exit
	JCT	Dyckman St / 10th Ave	Northbound junction
END Harlem River Drive Expressway ends Speed Limit 30

References

External links

• NYCRoads.com - Harlem River Drive