U.S. Route 1 in New York - History

History

US 1 roughly follows the old Boston Post Road, an early colonial highway between New York City and Boston originally laid out in 1673 for transporting mail and later utilized for stage coach travel. The old Boston Post Road began in Lower Manhattan and went north across the length of Manhattan. It crossed into the mainland on Kingsbridge, then continued through a largely abandoned road to Williamsbridge, then across the northern part of the Bronx along Bussing Avenue. It then continued into Westchester County along Kingsbridge Road, South Columbus Avenue, Colonial Avenue, and Kings Highway to present US 1. From there the old Boston Post Road roughly followed modern US 1 into Connecticut. By 1797, a new bridge over the Harlem River, approximately at the site of the Third Avenue Bridge, had been constructed. This significantly shortened the route out of Manhattan and this new alignment became the preferred route. The new alignment used Third Avenue and Boston Road in the Bronx, then continued along modern US 1 through Westchester County.

In 1800, the Westchester Turnpike company was chartered to build and maintain a toll road between New York City and Connecticut. The company straightened out the old Boston Post Road in Westchester County to more or less the modern alignment of US 1. By the middle of the 19th century, most of the toll roads had been dissolved and the roads reverted to public management. In the beginning of the 20th century, the state highway system was established in New York and most of the main thoroughfares came under the control of the State Highway Department. Highways were first publicly marked with route numbers in 1924. The old Westchester Turnpike alignment was designated as NY 1, which matched the route number across the Connecticut state line. NY 1 ended at the New York city limits since roads in the city were not under the control of the State Highway Department.

In 1926, the U.S. Highway system was established. US 1 in New York was designated from Jersey City, New Jersey, through New York City and lower Westchester, to Greenwich, Connecticut. Old NY 1 was incorporated into the new US 1. However, because New York city did not post route numbers, US 1 ended at the 42nd Street Ferry landing in Weehawken (where the old Lincoln Highway crossed into the city) and resumed again at the Bronx–Westchester boundary. By 1928, the Holland Tunnel opened and the end of US 1 on the New Jersey side was moved there.

For several years, the Automobile Club of New York had been lobbying New York City to sign state highways within the city, including US 1. Their proposal was to sign US 1 from the Holland Tunnel, then along Houston Street and Second Avenue, then crossing the Harlem River along the Willis Avenue Bridge, then via Southern Boulevard, West Farms Road, and Boston Road. In December 1934, New York City finally agreed to sign routes within the city. By this time, the new George Washington Bridge had opened and it was decided that US 1 and US 9 would be routed through there. The old proposed US 1 alignment through Manhattan became NY 1A. When first signed in New York City, US 1 utilized 181st Street, then crossed the Harlem River on the Washington Bridge, and then continued on University Avenue and Fordham Road before continuing on modern US 1. In 1977, US 1 was moved to Webster Avenue and the Cross Bronx Expressway, crossing the Harlem River using the Alexander Hamilton Bridge.