In 1925 the Village of Scarsdale insisted that the BPC pay for all the improvements near Hartsdale Station, including the elimination of at-grade crossings at both Fenimore and Greenacres roads. The estimated cost of the project had skyrocketed to $250,000 with none of the parties agreeing on the appropriate division of costs. Bethell recommended that the BPC pay for the Greenacres crossing "in the interest of harmony." The other commissioners concurred and approved a modified design for both crossings that was expected to cost up to $112,364. By the time Scarsdale voters ratified the project and passed a bond issue to provide funding, the BRPR was almost ready to open. Downer was told to proceed with the construction plans and advertise the contract. The BPC could not agree to supervise the project, however, since the commission’s authority would terminate with the parkway’s completion.(236)

Valhalla Bridge

The last grade separation to be built was the Valhalla Bridge, which carried the parkway drive over the New York Central Railroad tracks immediately south of Kensico Plaza. The design of this section of the parkway was still in flux, since the BPC was seeking NYC-BEA approval to acquire additional land at this location in order to reduce the cost of the grade separation and obtain a better alignment for the parkway drive. The BPC calculated that it would have to spend $190,000 to construct the necessary arrangements within the existing boundaries. With the requested land acquisition, the same goals could be achieved for $110,000 less. The BPC did not provide an estimate of how much the land would cost. Its chief concern at this point was securing the best alignment for the roadway and getting the parkway completed rather than worrying about the project’s overall cost. The NYC-BEA accepted the BPC’s proposal and authorized funding for the additional land. Once the purchases were approved, Downer notified property owners and ordered surveys and appraisals of the land.(237)

In late 1923, Stoughton and Hayden presented their design for the Valhalla Bridge to the BPC. The commission ruled that the picturesque and boldly polychromatic design was more pleasing than the mundane girder bridges typically built for railroad crossings. The New York Central Railroad Company also approved the design. The BPC hired Stoughton as the consulting architect for the project and agreed to pay him the BPC’s standard fee of 2 percent of the project cost to work with Hayden to devise an appropriate architectural treatment. Hayden noted that the BPC could have built a plate-girder span with the girders encased in concrete like the bridge in Scarsdale. While this would have been a simple solution, the bridge was visible from the parkway drive approaches from the north and south and would have been dwarfed by the massive backdrop of Kensico Dam. Hayden and Stoughton pointed out that Kensico Plaza was a formal development and maintained that this called for a more elaborate architectural treatment than usual. Hayden’s rigid-frame system provided the structural basis of the design and Stoughton contributed the unique suspension-bridge-like profile and eclectic brick and stone facing. The bridge was approximately 50' wide. It had a clear span of 100' and was built on a skew of 21 degrees. The approach walls were independent of the main structure and separated from it by expansion joints. Hayden commented that the Valhalla Bridge epitomized the successful collaboration between architect and engineer. Crediting the basic conception to the structural requirements of the rigid-frame design, he added that "the success of the idea from an aesthetic point of view was due to the genius of the architect."(238) The Valhalla Bridge’s highly decorative architectural treatment demonstrated the adaptability of Hayden’s rigid-frame bridge to various overlays of architectural design. During the course of construction the span was redesigned to accommodate the width of six sets of railroad tracks rather than four as originally forecast.

(236)Bronx Parkway Commission, Minutes, March 17, 1925; March 31, 1925, 30-35; October 13, 1925, 59-69.
(237)Bronx Parkway Commission, Minutes, October 23, 1923, 115-118; January 19, 1924, 6-10; January 19, 1922, 6-8.
(238)Bronx Parkway Commission, Minutes, November 27, 1923, 144-148; February 14, 1924, 22-25; October 28, 1924, 163-165; September 3, 1924, 129-135; Hayden, "Two Parkway Bridges," 16-19.