Harlem River Drive - Route Description

Route Description

The Harlem River Drive begins at exit 17 of the FDR Drive in East Harlem section of Manhattan. The parkway crosses under 125th Street alongside the Harlem River. Bending to the northwest, the Harlem River Drive crosses under Willis Avenue, passing west of the Willis Avenue Bridge. Proceeding southbound, exit 19 is present, connecting to 125th Street and the Willis Avenue Bridge. The Harlem River Drive proceeding northwest, crosses under the Third Avenue Bridge, reaching exit 21 northbound, a junction for 135th Street. Southbound, exit 20 connects to Park Avenue. Continuing northward, the Harlem River Drive continues north under the Madison Avenue Bridge. Southbound, the Harlem River Drive meets exit 22, a junction to 142nd Street and Fifth Avenue.

Crossing under 145th Street, the Harlem River Drive passes east of the 145th Street station on the IRT Lenox Avenue Line. Passing the Lenox Yard, the road passes east of 148th Street station. The Harlem River Drive crosses under the Macombs Dam Bridge, 155th Street, and Seventh Avenue before crossing exit 23, a left exit to Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Passing east of the Polo Grounds site, the Harlem River Drive enters exit 24, a junction to I-95 (the Trans-Manhattan Expressway) in High Bridge Park. Crossing under the Trans-Manhattan, the Harlem River Drive continues northeast as a four-lane parkway.

Crossing under the Alexander Hamilton Bridge, the Harlem River Drive crosses through High Bridge Park before turning away from the Harlem River. The four-lane arterial continues north through Manhattan, entering a junction with Dyckman Street and Tenth Avenue. This junction serves as the northern end of the Harlem River Drive, as it continues west across Manhattan as Dyckman Street through Inwood.