Bear Mountain State Parkway

Bear Mountain State Parkway
Bear Mountain State Parkway
	Bear Mountain State Parkway highlighted in red
Route information
	Maintained by NYSDOT
Length	6.20 mi (9.98 km) Includes connection made by US 202 / NY 35
Existed	1932[citation needed]–present
Western segment
Length	3.85 mi (6.20 km)
West end	US 6 / US 9 / US 202 in Peekskill
Major intersections	US 6 in Cortlandt Manor
East end	US 202 / NY 35 in Cortlandt
Eastern segment
Length	0.73 mi (1,170 m)
West end	US 202 / NY 35 in Crompond
East end	Taconic State Parkway in Crompond
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Counties	Westchester
Highway system
	New York Highways; Interstate; US; State; Reference; Parkways;

The Bear Mountain State Parkway (also known as the Bear Mountain Parkway) is a parkway located in northern Westchester County, New York, in the United States. It is an incomplete highway, with a 3.85-mile (6.20 km) western section and a 0.73-mile (1.17 km) eastern section; both sections comprise New York State Route 987H (NY 987H), the unsigned reference route assigned to the road by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). Crompond Road (U.S. Route 202 (US 202) and NY 35) provides a connection between the two sections. Collectively, the parkway extends from an intersection with US 6, US 9, and US 202 southeast of the Bear Mountain Bridge to an interchange with the Taconic State Parkway in Yorktown.

The parkway was built in 1932 but, unlike most other parkways in Westchester County, it has barely been constructed upon since. The initial reason for the Bear Mountain Parkway was to connect the Taconic State Parkway (or then, the Bronx River Parkway Extension) to the Bear Mountain Bridge. The Tappan Zee Bridge became a more popular Hudson River crossing following its construction, and consequently, the Bear Mountain Parkway was never finished.

Route description edit

Eastbound Bear Mountain State Parkway past its western terminus in Peekskill

The parkway begins at an intersection with US 6, US 9 and US 202 south of Annsville Creek in Peekskill and proceeds eastward through the north side of Peekskill as a two-lane undivided road. During its first mile, the parkway intersects a street at-grade and connects to Highland Avenue by way of an interchange before widening to three divided lanes (two westbound, one eastbound) at an interchange with North Division Street. The parkway intersects another street at-grade prior to entering Cortlandt.

Near the western end of the eastern segment in Yorktown

In Cortlandt, the parkway meets US 6 at an interchange and becomes a two-lane undivided road again and meets several surface roads ahead of an intersection with US 202 and NY 35. Here, the Bear Mountain Parkway merges with the two-lane US 202 and NY 35, creating a physical but not official concurrency extending eastward into neighboring Yorktown. Roughly one mile from the town line, the parkway separates from US 202 and NY 35 and progresses to the northeast as a two-lane freeway. After a short distance, the parkway becomes separated by a median prior to merging with the southbound Taconic State Parkway. The northbound Taconic Parkway is accessed by way of US 202 and NY 35.

NY 987H, the internal NYSDOT designation for the parkway, terminates at both ends of the physical overlap with US 202 and NY 35 and applies only to the segments of the road separate from US 202 and NY 35.^[1] The parkway was designated but not signed as NY 821 prior to the creation of the current reference route system.

History edit

Originally proposed by Robert Moses, the Bear Mountain State Parkway was built between 1929 and 1932 by the Westchester County Parks Commission as part of the Bronx River Parkway's extension into northern Westchester County.^{[citation needed]} It was intended to provide a quick, scenic trip from the Bronx to the Bear Mountain Bridge and Harriman State Park.^{[citation needed]} In 1941, the Taconic State Park Commission assumed control of the Bronx River extension. The commission subsequently combined the north–south portion of the extension with the then-Eastern State Parkway to create the Taconic State Parkway. The east–west section of the extension between the Taconic Parkway and Annsville was renamed the Bear Mountain State Parkway.^[2]

At the time of the parkway's construction, the Bear Mountain Bridge was an extremely important crossing of the Hudson River for Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Orange County residents.^{[citation needed]} The construction of the Tappan Zee Bridge and the traffic issues caused by the two-lane roads descending to the Bear Mountain Bridge have diminished the bridge's popularity since then,^{[citation needed]} and consequently, the Bear Mountain Parkway was never finished.

In 2000, there was an initiative to complete the final missing piece of the Bear Mountain Parkway, since all of the right of way has already been acquired.^[3] However, this never came to fruition.

Major intersections edit

The entire route is in Westchester County.

Location	mi^[1]^[4]	km	Destinations	Notes
Peekskill	0.00	0.00	US 6 / US 9 / US 202 – Croton-on-Hudson, Bear Mountain, Fishkill, Camp Smith	Western terminus
	0.80	1.29	Highland Avenue	Interchange
	1.10	1.77	North Division Street	Interchange
Cortlandt	2.94	4.73	US 6 – Peekskill, Lake Mohegan, Brewster	Interchange
Cortlandt	3.85	6.20	US 202 / NY 35 – Yorktown Heights, Peekskill
Gap in designation, connection made via US 202 / NY 35
Crompond	0.00	0.00	US 202 / NY 35 to Taconic State Parkway north – Yorktown Heights, Peekskill
Crompond	0.73	1.17	Taconic State Parkway south	Eastern terminus; exit 17B on Taconic State Parkway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Incomplete access