Hallelujah...the direct ramp from the Willis Avenue Bridge to I-87 NB is now open. Eventually there will be a seamless crossing from the Harlem River Drive, over the bridge and onto I-87.
http://maps.google.com/?ll=40.807041,-73.925543&spn=0.002286,0.004801&t=k&z=18
Something I've long wondered about: What was the originally planned configuration for the elevated interchange between the Harlem River Drive and the 125th St. bridge? There's a stub-end which looks like it was intended for a ramp or ramps to the Willis Ave. bridge. Does anyone know or have a diagram or depiction?
Quote from: qguy on February 28, 2012, 12:26:19 PM
Something I've long wondered about: What was the originally planned configuration for the elevated interchange between the Harlem River Drive and the 125th St. bridge? There's a stub-end which looks like it was intended for a ramp or ramps to the Willis Ave. bridge. Does anyone know or have a diagram or depiction?
A 1936 photo shows that it was always built as it is currently: http://www.mta.info/news/stories/?story=305
Hagstrom (1949) shows a direct ramp to the Harlem River Drive northbound: http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/77925/Manhattan+composite+1949/Manhattan+Composite+1949/New+York/
Presumably this was never built, since in 1954 the HRD was still unbuilt there: http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=6.48830539468478E-06&lat=40.8014294291306&lon=-73.9305770447441&year=1954
Quote from: NE2 on February 28, 2012, 01:21:42 PMHagstrom (1949) shows a direct ramp to the Harlem River Drive northbound
That doesn't suprise me. Hagstrom often depicted proposals as if they were already built. Many never were.
What's odd to me is that there was a temporary ramp built from the northbound HRD onto the west side of the Willis Ave. Bridge (you can see it in Google Earth historical imagery I believe, and Google Maps currently shows it as "planned"). That ramp has been demolished and replaced by a less tortuous ramps connecting to the east side of bridge. But now you have to weave across the bridge to get to the I-87 ramp, whereas with the temporary arrangement you didn't. It seems curious that the final plan didn't involve having a ramp to the west side of the bridge, but perhaps its tight curvature is what kept it from being the preferred alternative?
I would say definitely so. That curve was nasty. The new ramp is nice and allows high speeds - just like the old pre-construction ramp did, except now it's not falling apart.
Nonetheless, the direct connection is of obvious utility... even if I personally don't expect to use it often since I am almost always going the other way, up the Bruckner.