"Death Avenue" was a nickname given to both
Tenth and
Eleventh Avenues on the west side of
Manhattan,
New York City in the 19th century.
In 1847, the City of New York authorized the construction of railroad tracks along Tenth and Eleventh Avenues on Manhattan's West Side. The street-level tracks were used by the
New York Central Railroad's freight trains, which shipped commodities such as coal, dairy products and beef.
For safety the railroad hired "West Side cowboys", men who rode horses and waved flags in front of the trains.
However, so many accidents occurred between freight trains and other traffic that the nickname "Death Avenue" was given to Tenth
and Eleventh Avenues.
In 1910, one organization estimated that there had been 548 deaths and 1,574 injuries over the years along Eleventh Avenue.
Public debate about the hazard began during the early 1900s.
In 1929 the city, the state, and New York Central agreed on the West Side Improvement Project,
conceived by
Robert Moses
Robert Moses (December 18, 1888 – July 29, 1981) was an American urban planner and public official who worked in the New York metropolitan area during the early to mid 20th century. Despite never being elected to any office, Moses is regarded ...
.
The project eliminated 105 street-level railroad crossings and added to
Riverside Park; it also included construction of the
West Side Elevated Highway and the
West Side Line elevated viaduct. It cost more than $150 million, about $2 billion in 2017 dollars.
The last stretch of street-level track was removed from Eleventh Avenue in 1941.
References
{{reflist
Chelsea, Manhattan
Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan
West Side Line
19th century in Manhattan