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The Belt Parkway is the name given to a series of connected limited-access highways that form a belt-like circle around the
New York City boroughs New York City is composed of five boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Each borough is coextensive with a respective county of New York State, making New York City the largest U.S. municipality situated in m ...
of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
. The Belt Parkway comprises three of the four parkways in what is known as the Belt System: the Shore Parkway, the Southern Parkway (not to be confused with the
Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway; abbreviated as SO on signage) is a limited-access highway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt and ...
), and the Laurelton Parkway. The three parkways in the Belt Parkway are a combined in length. The Cross Island Parkway makes up the fourth parkway in the system, but is signed separately.


Route description

The Shore Parkway, Southern Parkway, Laurelton Parkway, and Cross Island Parkway are collectively known as the "Belt System". The four components of the Belt System are designated as New York State Route 907C (NY 907C), NY 907D, NY 907B, and NY 907A, respectively, by the New York State Department of Transportation. All four numbers are reference route designations and are not signed. Excluding the Cross Island Parkway, the other three segments are now known collectively as the official "Belt Parkway". It is designated an east–west route, and its exit numbering system begins, in standard fashion, at the western terminus of the Shore Parkway, the westernmost parkway in the system. The numbering increases as the parkway proceeds eastward, and continues onto the Cross Island at the eastern terminus of the Belt Parkway. The north–south parkway retains the numbering scheme to its northern terminus.


Shore Parkway

The Belt Parkway begins at an interchange (exit 22) with the Gowanus Expressway in the Bay Ridge section of
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
. Paralleling Third Avenue, the parkway turns west and crosses over the Long Island Rail Road Bay Ridge Branch, a freight-only line. Bypassing Bay Ridge, the Belt passes exit 1, which services 65th–67th Streets in Bay Ridge. Crossing south past Owl's Head Park, the parkway turns southward and enters Shore Road Park, paralleling the shore of the Upper New York Bay. The eastbound lanes, the Belt Parkway passes several small parking areas that services as a viewing spot for the bay. Connections across the parkway to Bay Ridge are also present at these parking areas. Beginning the bend to the southeast, the parkway passes
Andrew Lehman Field Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is frequently shortened to "Andy" or "Drew". The word is derived ...
. Just east of the field, the Belt Parkway comes within the shadows of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and passes exit 2, which serves as the southern terminus of Fourth Avenue. After crossing under the bridge, the westbound lanes enter exit 3 which connects to the Verrazzano. Eastbound, the lanes from the bridge connecting to the Belt merge in, as the road enters Dyker Beach Park and Golf Course. During a short gap away from the shore, the Belt passes a parking area for Dyker Beach Park, entering exit 4, which services Bay 8th Street and 14th Avenue. Continuing along the park, the Belt begins to parallel
Cropsey Avenue Cropsey Avenue is a major street in Brooklyn, New York City. It generally runs northwest-southeast, from Poly Place/14th Avenue in Bath Beach to Neptune Avenue/West 17th Street in Coney Island. It forms the northeastern boundary of Dreier-Offe ...
and passes another parking area before reaching exit 5, a junction with Bay Parkway. This marks the eastern end of Dyker Beach Park, and the route begins to parallel shoreline strip malls before reaching
Calvert Vaux Park Calvert Vaux Park (formerly known as Dreier Offerman Park) is an public park in Gravesend, Brooklyn, in New York City. Created in 1934, it is composed of several disconnected sections along the Belt Parkway between Bay 44th and Bay 49th Street ...
. Now in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn, the Belt passes exit 6, which connects to Cropsey Avenue. Westbound, this junction is split into exit 6N and exit 6S, also serving Stillwell Avenue. The parkway bends eastward and crosses over the Coney Island Complex, a large railroad yard for the New York City Subway. Just before passing exit 7, the eastbound lanes cross just north of the Neptune Avenue subway station. Exit 7 eastbound services Ocean Parkway, which is met by exit 7B proceeding westbound. Westbound, exit 7A services Shell Road in Gravesend. Paralleling the namesake Neptune Avenue, the parkway enters
Sheepshead Bay Sheepshead, Sheephead, or Sheep's Head, may refer to: Fish * ''Archosargus probatocephalus'', a medium-sized saltwater fish of the Atlantic Ocean * Freshwater drum, ''Aplodinotus grunniens'', a medium-sized freshwater fish of North and Central Am ...
and connections to Coney Island. At exit 8, the Belt Parkway connects to Coney Island Avenue, approaching the namesake bay as it continues east. Paralleling Emmons Avenue through Sheepshead Bay, the parkway passes exit 9A eastbound, which connects to Knapp Street and exit 9B, which is a ramp to the eastern end of Emmons Avenue. Westbound, exit 9 services Knapp Street. Crossing south of Gerritsen Beach, the parkway passes south of the
Plum Beach Channel A plum is a fruit of some species in ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are called prunes. History Plums may have been one of the first fruits domesticated by humans. Three of the most abundantly cultivated species are not found i ...
and passes a small rest area on the eastbound lanes. Turning northeast through the Floyd Bennett Field area, the parkway bends north and passes a service area with gas services in the median. Just north of the service area, the Belt passes exit 11N–S, a cloverleaf interchange which connects to Flatbush Avenue and the
Rockaways The Rockaway Peninsula, commonly referred to as The Rockaways or Rockaway, is a peninsula at the southern edge of the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, New York. Relatively isolated from Manhattan and other more urban parts of th ...
. After exit 11N, the Belt Parkway continues east through Floyd Bennett Field, crossing over the
Mill Basin Drawbridge Mill Basin is a residential neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn, New York City. It is on a peninsula abutting Jamaica Bay and is bordered by Avenue U on the northwest and the Mill Basin/Mill Island Inlet on its remaining sides. Mill Basin is ...
into Brooklyn Beach and passes the entrance to the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy, the only business served directly on the parkway. Crossing over another bridge, the parkway enters the Canarsie section of Brooklyn. The parkway, now running northeast, parallels a bicycle path, reaching
Canarsie Pier Canarsie ( ) is a mostly residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of Brooklyn, New York City. Canarsie is bordered on the east by Fresh Creek Basin and East 108th Street; on the north by Linden Boulevard; on the west by Ralph Ave ...
and exit 13, which serves as the southern end of Rockaway Parkway. Crossing over another bridge over Spring Creek, the parkway passes exit 14, which connects to Pennsylvania Avenue in Starrett City. The interchange is adjacent to the former Pennsylvania Avenue Landfill. After crossing another waterway, Hendrix Creek, the Belt passes the former Fountain Avenue Landfill and passes exit 15, a diamond interchange with Erskine Street leading to the Gateway Center shopping complex. Now crossing over the Old Mill Basin section of Jamaica Bay, the Belt Parkway continues northeast in the borough of
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, entering exit 17N–S, Cross Bay Boulevard and Cohancy Street, which also connects to the
Cross Bay Bridge The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge (originally Cross Bay Bridge or Cross Bay Parkway Bridge) is a toll bridge that carries Cross Bay Boulevard across Jamaica Bay in Queens, New York City, between Broad Channel and the Rockaway Peninsula. ...
and towards the Rockaways. Crossing into an interchange with NY 27, the parkway travels under the IND Rockaway Line () and passes exit 18B, which connects to
Aqueduct Racetrack Aqueduct Racetrack is a Thoroughbred horse racing facility and casino in the South Ozone Park and Jamaica neighborhoods of Queens, New York City, United States. Aqueduct is the only racetrack located within New York City limits. Its racing m ...
in Ozone Park.


Southern and Laurelton Parkways

Now on the Southern Parkway section of the Belt, the Belt continues eastward into exit 19, which connects to NY 878 (the Nassau Expressway) and indirectly with
I-678 Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and ...
, the Van Wyck Expressway. This interchange also serves as access to John F. Kennedy International Airport. Now with North and South Conduit Avenues serving as westbound and eastbound frontage roads for the parkway, passing exit 20, a junction with the JFK Expressway and the airport. Crossing under the Van Wyck, the Belt continues east through multiple underpasses and overpasses before reaching exit 21A, westbound side, which services 150th Street and Rockaway Boulevard. Crossing under Guy R. Brewer Boulevard, the Belt passes exit 21B, which connects to Farmers Boulevard and Guy R. Brewer Boulevard. Exit 22 services Springfield Boulevard, where the Belt Parkway begins to parallel a Long Island Rail Road line through Laurelton. Westbound, exit 23A services North Conduit Boulevard (NY 27) and 225th Street, while eastbound, exit 23B services NY 27 and the Sunrise Highway. At this junction, the parkway turns northeast and joins the Laurelton Parkway segment, which connects to exit 24A, Merrick Boulevard (also known as Floyd H. Flake Boulevard) in both directions, and Francis Lewis Boulevard on the eastbound lanes. Exit 24B on the eastbound lanes connects also to Merrick Boulevard and 130th Avenue and on the westbound lanes connect Francis Lewis Boulevard. Just after crossing under 130th Avenue, the Belt passes exit 25A–B. At this interchange, the Laurelton Parkway segment ends, with exit 25A connecting to the western terminus of the
Southern State Parkway The Southern State Parkway (also known as the Southern State or Southern Parkway; abbreviated as SO on signage) is a limited-access highway on Long Island, New York, in the United States. The parkway begins at an interchange with the Belt and ...
and exit 25B servicing Elmont Road. At this interchange, the Belt Parkway crosses over the Southern State and becomes the Cross Island Parkway, which continues north through Queens, connecting to I-495, the Grand Central Parkway and eventually I-678, the Whitestone Expressway.


History


Proposal

The Belt Parkway was proposed by public official and highway advocate Robert Moses on February 25, 1930 to provide highway access to Manhattan and to connect to, and use similar design principles to, parkways already constructed on
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United States and the 18 ...
and Westchester County, New York. At the time, the Belt project was referred to as the "Marginal Boulevard". The Belt system was part of a "Metropolitan Loop" running through all five boroughs of New York City as well as
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...
, proposed by the Regional Plan Association in 1929. Other highways proposed in this loop included the future Cross Bronx Expressway and Staten Island Expressway. In a 1937 report titled “New Parkways in New York City”, the New York City Parks Department proposed the Belt Parkway in the following outline:


Construction

Construction began in 1934. New highway designs were implemented, including dark main roads and lighter-colored entrance and exit ramps. The parkway first opened on June 29, 1940, with most of Cross Island, Southern, and Shore Parkway sections completed. A bike path along the Southern Brooklyn section of the Belt Parkway opened in 1941. The construction of Belt Parkway entailed: * of hydraulic fill pumped * of dry fill moved * of pavement used * of concrete used * of masonry used * of piles used * of steel used * 9,000 men employed All the original parkways, except the Gowanus, were built on grassy rights-of-way with trees, in a more green surrounding than most highways of their time. To build sections between exits 7 and 8 in the 1930s parts of Coney Island Creek were filled in, finishing the process, begun over a decade before construction began, of turning Coney Island from an island into a peninsula. The Gowanus Parkway, in part replacing the demolished Fifth Avenue Line, was built as an elevated structure over Third and Hamilton Avenues in order to avoid the active docks and industrial areas including Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Like most
parkways in New York State The majority of parkways in the US state of New York are part of a statewide parkway system owned by several public and private agencies but mostly maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT). A handful of other roads ...
, the parkways comprising the Belt System were closed to commercial traffic, including any vehicle with a non-passenger registration and all commercial trucking of any size. Originally even station wagons, which had "suburban" registrations, were excluded but they were later allowed, along with passenger-registered SUVs and vans.


Completed system

The Belt Parkway formed the southern portion of a system of parkways and highways that connected every borough except
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey b ...
. At its eastern end, the Belt Parkway became the Cross Island Parkway, which connected to the Bronx–Whitestone Bridge and the Hutchinson River Parkway in the east Bronx. At its western end, the Belt Parkway led to the Gowanus Parkway, the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel, the
West Side Elevated Highway The West Side Elevated Highway (West Side Highway or Miller Highway, named for Julius Miller, Manhattan borough president from 1922 to 1930) was an elevated section of New York State Route 9A (NY 9A) running along the Hudson River in the New ...
, and the
Henry Hudson Parkway The Henry Hudson Parkway is a parkway in New York City. The southern terminus is in Manhattan at 72nd Street, where the parkway continues south as the West Side Highway. It is often erroneously referred to as the West Side Highway throughout its ...
to the west Bronx. The Henry Hudson and Hutchinson River parkways were connected in the Bronx via Van Cortlandt Park, Mosholu Parkway, and Pelham Parkway, all of which were service-level roads. Some portions of the original system were converted to
expressways Expressway may refer to: * Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road A limited-access road, known by various terms worldwide, including limi ...
, which could be used by commercial traffic. The Gowanus Expressway replaced the Gowanus Parkway in 1950 and became part of the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
as I-278. The Whitestone Parkway was expanded into the Whitestone Expressway starting in 1957; it also became an Interstate Highway and is signed as part of
I-678 Interstate 678 (I-678) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway that extends for through two boroughs of New York City. The route begins at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jamaica Bay and travels north through Queens and ...
. In 1969, the New York City Council co-named the Belt Parkway ''Leif Ericson Drive'' between exit 2 and exit 9, to recognize the large Scandinavian population in Bay Ridge. In October 2009, NYCDOT launched the first phase of a capital project to reconstruct seven obsolete bridges along the Belt Parkway. The first phase included the reconstruction of an overpass ramp from Guider Avenue, as well as the replacement of the Paerdegat Basin and Rockaway Parkway bridges, which was completed in 2012. In 2021, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority proposed widening a section of the Belt Parkway near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.


Exit list


See also


References


External links


Belt Parkway Historic Overview
at Steve Anderson's ''nycroads.com''
Belt Parkway (Greater New York Roads)


{{JFK Airport Parkways in New York (state) Parkways in New York City Transportation in Brooklyn Transportation in Queens, New York Robert Moses projects Beltways in the United States