HAER Report

Finishing the Parkway

Once the funding from New York City was finally reinstated, the BPC estimated that it could complete the parkway by January 1925, if there were no unexpected delays. With its monetary problems resolved, the BPC forged ahead with bridge construction, road paving, and planning for the future.(221)

Grade Separations

The BPC’s original development plans provided for separating the parkway drive from the major intersecting streets. To achieve this goal, the BPC negotiated with municipal governments to plan these structures and designate which agencies would pay for the projects. Between 1923 and the parkway’s dedication in 1925, the BPC concentrated on designing the remaining grade separations and bridges. This work involved frequent consultation with local communities. The BPC also advised municipal governments on plans for bridges over the Bronx River, since these were intended to harmonize with the parkway and drive.

Intersections originally planned for grade separations included Gun Hill Road, McLean Avenue, and Wakefield Avenue in the Bronx. The most critical separation from a traffic standpoint was Gun Hill Road, which carried heavy vehicular traffic, a double track trolley, and an elevated railroad structure. Stoughton designed the Gun Hill Road Bridge, which was completed sometime between 1918 and 1922. Grade separation structures were also built at Woodland Place and Hamilton Avenue in White Plains and Broad Street in Mount Vernon.(222)

Other intersections with heavy traffic were considered for grade separation development, but the commission decided it would be better to defer additional construction for at least a few years to hold down costs. The BPC planned to provide traffic officers at these intersections if regulation proved necessary. After World War I, traffic increased to the point that the BPC concluded that some grade separations it had hoped to defer would have to be constructed in order to avoid "costly regulation and danger to life and limb." In 1921, the BPC decided to construct additional grade separations at Palmer Road, Pondfield Road (Swain Street), Tuckahoe Road, Ardsley Road, and Main Street. For several communities, this was still not sufficient. Yonkers proposed additional grade separations at Park Avenue and Thompson Street. The BPC and community leaders also decided that Fenimore Road also required a grade separation near Harstdale Station.(223)

In early 1921, Downer reported that traffic at Main Street in White Plains had increased more rapidly than expected and recommended that a grade separation be built as soon as possible. He advised that it would be cheaper to build this feature while the parkway was under construction rather than add it later. The BPC instructed Downer to prepare a tentative plan and cost estimate. Stoughton was hired to render a drawing for the Main Street structure. His design used a "flat-arch" treatment with cut stone. The BPC reviewed the plan, objected to the overly formal effect produced by the cut stone and called for alternate plans for a rough stone treatment that would harmonize with the old arch bridge that crossed the river in this location. Almost a year later, Stoughton presented his new plans for Main Street, which employed the desired rough stone facing and incorporated Hayden’s new rigid-frame design. Stoughton’s design was approved in June 1923. Four bids were submitted for the contract, with the award going to the lowest bidder, the U. G. I. Contracting Company, for approximately $45,000.(224) The Tuckahoe Road Bridge construction was concurrent with the Main Street Bridge. Delano & Aldrich designed the bridge, making similar changes from cut to rough stone to comply with the BPC’s preferences for a rustic appearance. U. G. I. Contracting was chosen as the contractor for the project even though it did not submit the lowest bid. Downer recommended U. G. I. over lower bidders because the company was in a stronger financial position and also had better organizational resources.(225)