NYC - Willis Avenue Bridge

[empirestate]

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

[qguy]

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?

[NE2]

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

[qguy]

Hagstrom (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.

[empirestate]

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?

[Duke87]

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.