Hutchinson River Parkway

The Hutchinson River Parkway is a limited-access highway linking the Bronx with Interstate 287 (Cross-Westchester Expressway) and I-684 in Westchester County, and the Merritt Parkway (Route 15) into Greenwich, Connecticut. The parkway functions as a major commuter route for the northern suburbs, linking directly with Interstate 678 and the Whitestone Bridge to the south. The rustic four lane highway features stone arch bridges and a tree lined right-of-way. Like all New York City area parkways, commercial trucks are prohibited from using Hutchinson River Parkway. The roadway is sometimes referred by locals as simply as "the Hutch".

Hutchinson River Parkway Guides

• North
• South

Planned by the Westchester Parks system, Hutchinson River Parkway opened to alleviate traffic along Boston Post Road (U.S. 1). An 11 mile section of the parkway opened in stages between 1927 and 1928 in the White Plains area. The roadway had nine foot travel lanes with a 40 mile per hour speed limit. Extension of the parkway northward lengthened the Hutchinson River Parkway to the Connecticut state line in 1937, ultimately providing a seamless connection with the 1940-completed Merritt Parkway. Also during 1937 was the opening of the southward extension of the parkway to Orchard Beach Road in Pelham Bay Park. By 1941 the parkway joined the north end of the Whitestone Bridge.¹

Widening of Hutchinson River Parkway quickly followed with the southernmost portion expanded to six lanes by the late 1940s. Planning later involved upgrading of the parkway into a full fledged expressway to permit use by trucks and buses in addition to passenger vehicles. The Tri-State Transportation Commission favored this change for the parkway between Interstate 287 and I-678, but only the upgrading of the section between the Whitestone Bridge and Bruckner Interchange (I-95, I-295, I-678) in 1972 was completed. Plans for expanding the rest of the parkway between I-95 and I-287 were abandoned after the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) declined New York's request to extend Interstate 678 northward to the Bronx city line.¹

Modernization of the parkway continued in the 1980s and 1990s with expansion near the interchange with I-287 and I-684, roadway straightening to improve site distances and improvements to entrance and exit ramps. Ramps at Exit 11 (Sparks Avenue) and Exit 24 (West Street) were removed, as was the Pelham Manor toll plaza on October 31, 1994. Additional improvements were undertaken north of Interstate 684 to the Merritt Parkway, and along the parkway at the 2002-reconstructed Bruckner Interchange.¹ Sign replacements in 2003 resulted in the numbering of interchanges south of Exit 7 (U.S. 1).²

Connect with:
Interstate 95
Interstate 278
Interstate 295
Interstate 678
Interstate 684

Page Updated 03-07-2020.