Information about Palisades Interstate Parkway

Palisades Interstate Parkway
Maintained by Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Length:	38.25 mi<ref name="sld445" /><ref name="sld445s" /><ref name="dot" /> (0 km) NJ 445S: 0.42 miles (0 km)<ref name="sld445s" />
Formed:	1947
South end:	I-95/US 1/9/46 in Fort Lee, NJ
Major junctions:	US 9W/NJ 67 in Fort Lee, NJ I-87/I-287/NY Thruway in Nanuet, NY US 202 in Mount Ivy, NY US 6 in Bear Mountain State Park, NY
North end:	US 6/9W/202 in Ft. Montgomery, NY

The Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) is a 38.25 mile (0 km) long limited-access highway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in New Jersey. The southern terminus of the route is at the George Washington Bridge (I-95/US 1-9/US 46 and the end of NJ 4) in Fort Lee, New Jersey. At Exit 18, the PIP forms a concurrency with U.S. Route 6 for the duration of its run. The northern terminus is at a traffic circle in Fort Montgomery, New York, where the PIP connects to U.S. Route 9W and U.S. Route 202 and the Bear Mountain Bridge.

The route is named for the New Jersey Palisades, a line of cliffs rising along the western side of the Hudson River. In New Jersey, the parkway is designated, but not signed as, Route 445. A short spur in Fort Lee is designated, but not signed as, Route 445S. In New York, the roadway is designated New York State Reference Route 987C, an unsigned reference route. As with most parkways in the New York metropolitan area, commercial traffic is prohibited from using the PIP.

Route description

Lengths
	mi	km
NJ	11.48[1][2]	18.48
NY	26.77[3]	43.08
Total	38.25	61.56

New Jersey

The Palisades Interstate Parkway begins at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee^[4]. Passengers from the upper level of the GWB can directly get on the PIP northbound. Passengers from the lower level of the bridge must travel through north Fort Lee, on US 9W, before getting on the PIP. Passengers riding northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) must be in local lanes to directly get on the PIP. It can be a confusing interchange for someone unfamiliar with the arrangement. Construction to fix this problem has been rumored for quite sometime, but nothing has been made official. Once the PIP leaves the GWB, it proceeds north along Palisades Interstate Park. In fact, early in the PIP's run, near Englewood Cliffs, there is a lookout point over the Palisades about where Manhattan Island begins at the Harlem River. After this, the PIP parallels US 9W and the Hudson River for its entire run in New Jersey. In fact, all four exits in New Jersey are either with US 9W, or within mere feet of the route. The PIP leaves New Jersey into New York in the town of Rockleigh.

New York

Rockland County

The Palisades enters Rockland County in the village of Palisades. At about the border the PIP changes direction from due north along the Hudson River to a north-west direction. The first two exits in New York are key exits for two colleges in Rockland County. Exit 5 provides a link to St. Thomas Aquinas College, and Exit 6 provides a link to Dominican College. Both of which reside in Orangeburg. In West Nyack, the PIP has a key interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-87,I-287). This intersection is about two miles west of the Tappan Zee Bridge. After the PIP's interchange with the NY Thruway, the PIP turns slighty north-east and its speed limit increases to 55mph. From the GWB to the NY Thruway it is exclusively 50mph. At Exit 13, the PIP intersects US 202 as the route crosses south of Harriman State Park in Mount Ivy. This is the first of two meetings between the PIP and US 202. At Exit 15, the PIP has its last significant exit in Rockland County with Old NY Route 210 in Stony Point. From here, the PIP enters Harriman State Park.

Orange County

The Palisades enters Orange County just before Exit 17 at Anthony Wayne Recreation Area. At Exit 18, the PIP intersects with US 6. US 6 west heads toward the New York Thruway and NY 17 five miles west in Harriman. US 6 east forms a concurrency with the PIP for the last two miles of the PIP's run. The two routes then enter Bear Mountain State Park in an eastern direction. Finally, the Palisades Interstate Parkway meets its end at US 9W/US 202 at a traffic circle inches from the Hudson River and the Bear Mountain Bridge. US 6 and 202 head east over the bridge, while US 9W heads north toward the United States Military Academy in West Point.

History

The Parkway was planned by A. Kenneth Morgan, director of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, starting in early 1940s; Morgan had been responsible for the design and operation of the 1939 New York World's Fair. The wooded appearance of the parkway mimics Connecticut's Merritt Parkway. The initial budget was $7 million, but World War II delayed its construction. The Parkway was built between 1947 and 1958 at a cost of $47 million to provide access to seventeen state parks and five historic sites of the Palisades Interstate Park region. The first section, from Bear Mountain to Mount Ivy, New York opened on November 30, 1953.

In Fort Lee, NJ 445S is the original alignment of the PIP; what is now the main route was built later.

Exit list

New Jersey

County	Location	Mile<ref name="sld445" />	#	Destinations	Notes
Bergen	Fort Lee	0.00		I-95 north/US 1/9 north (George Washington Bridge) – New York City, Long Island, New England	Southbound exit, northbound entrance.
		0.18	George Washington Bridge toll plaza (southbound).
				Myrtle Avenue	Southbound exit and entrance.
		0.31		US 9W south/NJ 67 south	Southbound exit, northbound entrance. To I-95 (New Jersey Turnpike) south/US 1/9 south. Fort Lee Spur (Route 445S).
	Englewood Cliffs	1.89	1	CR 505 (Palisade Avenue) – Englewood Boat Basin
	Alpine	7.48	2	US 9W (Palisades Boulevard) to CR 502 (Closter Dock Road)
		9.29	3	US 9W (Palisades Boulevard)
		10.34	4	US 9W (Highland Avenue)
		11.06	New Jersey-New York state line.

New York

County	Location	Mile<ref name="dot" />	#	Destinations	Notes
Rockland	Tappan	2.57	5N-S	NY 303 (Commonwealth Avenue) – Orangeburg, Tappan
	Orangeburg	3.50	6E-W	CR 20 (Orangeburg Road) – Orangeburg, Pearl River
	Orangetown/Clarkstown town line	6.40	7	CR 42 (Town Line Road) – Nanuet
	Clarkstown	7.13	8E-W	NY 59 (Nyack Turnpike) – West Nyack, Nyack, Spring Valley, Suffern
		7.91	9E-W	I-87/I-287/New York State Thruway – New York City, Albany, Montreal
		9.50	10	CR 33 (North Middletown Road) – New City, Nanuet
	New Hempstead	11.62	11	CR 80 (New Hempstead Road) – New City, New Square
	Pomona	13.30	12	NY 45 (Main Street) – Pomona, New Square
	Ramapo/Haverstraw town line	14.32	13	US 202 (Mount Ivy Road) – Haverstraw, Suffern
	Stony Point	16.71	14	CR 98 (Willow Grove Road) – Letchworth Village
		17.92	15	CR 106 (Stony Point Road) – Stony Point, Lake Kanawauke	Formerly NY 210. Passenger cars only north of this point.
		19.05	16	Lake Welch Parkway	No northbound entrance.
Orange	Highlands			Palisades Interstate Park Commission Visitor Center	Left exit.
		23.50	17	Anthony Wayne Recreation Area
		24.37	18	US 6 west (Long Mountain Parkway)/ Seven Lakes Drive west	US 6 and Seven Lakes Drive join eastbound and leave westbound.
		24.57	19	Seven Lakes Drive east to Perkins Memorial Drive	Seven Lakes Drive leaves eastbound and joins westbound.
		26.77		US 6 east/US 9W/US 202 – Stony Point, Peekskill, Newburgh	Traffic circle. US 6 leaves eastbound and joins westbound.

References

Further reading

• Myles, William J., Harriman Trails, A Guide and History, The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, New York, N.Y., 1999.

External links

• Palisades Interstate Parkway at nycroads.com
• Palisades Interstate Parkway
• an enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the Fort Lee approaches to the George Washington Bridge
• Google maps satellite image of the southern end of the Parkway
• C.C. Slater vs. the Palisades Interstate Parkway (The Comrade Yamamoto Experience)

Browse numbered routes
<	NJ		>
< NY 987A	NY		NY 987D >