The Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive, commonly called the FDR Drive for short, is a limited-access
parkway
A parkway is a landscaped thoroughfare.''"parkway."''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged. Merriam-Webster, 2002. http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com (14 Apr. 2007). The term is particularly used for a roadway in a park or ...
on the east side of the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
borough of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the
Battery Park Underpass
The Battery Park Underpass is a vehicular tunnel at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, New York City, near the neighborhoods of South Ferry and Battery Park City. The tunnel connects FDR Drive, which runs along the east side of Manhattan Island ...
, and runs north along the
East River
The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Queens ...
to the
125th Street /
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; formerly known and still commonly referred to as the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, a ...
/
Willis Avenue Bridge interchange, where it becomes the
Harlem River Drive. All of the FDR Drive is designated New York State Route 907L (NY 907L), an unsigned
reference route.
The FDR Drive features a mix of below-grade, at-grade, and elevated sections, as well as three partially covered tunnels. The parkway is mostly three lanes in each direction, except for several small sections.
By law, the current weight limits on the FDR Drive from 23rd Street to the Harlem River Drive in both directions is posted . Buses are not allowed to use the roadway north of 23rd Street because they exceed the road's maximum clearance and weight (although some do, including the
MTA's express buses). All commercial vehicles (including trucks) are banned from all sections of the FDR Drive, except for a short section just north of the Battery Park Underpass where the northbound lanes temporarily merge with South Street.
Route description
The
East River Greenway
The East River Greenway (also called the East River Esplanade) is an approximately foreshoreway for walking or cycling on the east side of the island of Manhattan on the East River. It is part of the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. The largest por ...
runs below, beside, or above the FDR Drive along nearly its entire length, except for a section between 38th and 60th Streets. A plaque dedicating the East River Drive is visible on the southbound roadway before entering the
Gracie Mansion tunnel at 90th Street.
Downtown
![FDR Drive approaching Brooklyn Bridge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/FDR_Drive_approaching_Brooklyn_Bridge.jpg)
FDR Drive starts at the southern tip of
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
at
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
Whitehall Street
Whitehall Street is a street in the South Ferry/Financial District neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City, near the southern tip of Manhattan Island. The street begins at Bowling Green to the north, where it is a continuation of the ...
s in the
Financial District. It rises from the underground
Battery Park Underpass
The Battery Park Underpass is a vehicular tunnel at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, New York City, near the neighborhoods of South Ferry and Battery Park City. The tunnel connects FDR Drive, which runs along the east side of Manhattan Island ...
to an elevated viaduct above South Street, with an at-grade connection to South Street at exit 1. The elevated viaduct continues northeast, with an interchange at
Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
at exit 2. The elevated road, also known as the South Street Viaduct, continues until Gouverneur Slip, near the
Manhattan Bridge
The Manhattan Bridge is a suspension bridge that crosses the East River in New York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Downtown Brooklyn at the Flatbush Avenue Extension. The main span is long, with the suspension cables be ...
interchange (exit 3), where there are a southbound exit and northbound entrance. From here, the road is at-grade, with a southbound exit/entrance at
Grand Street, exit 4.
The FDR Drive continues north through
Lower East Side
The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets.
Traditionally an im ...
and
Alphabet City, and dips under
Houston Street at exit 5, in a three-way interchange. It continues north as an at-grade road. Between
14th
14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15.
In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen".
In mathematics
* 14 is a composite number.
* 14 is a square pyramidal number.
* 14 is a s ...
and
15th Streets, the FDR Drive passes a large
Con Edison substation. The substation is surrounded by ramps for the former exit 6, a southbound exit and entrance which was closed after
September 11, 2001.
By
18th Street 18th Street may refer to:
Los Angeles
* 18th Street gang, an Hispanic street gang
Manhattan, New York City
* 18th Street (IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line); a subway station serving the trains
* 18th Street (IRT Lexington Avenue Line), a ...
, the FDR Drive curves north onto an elevated viaduct above
Avenue C. The elevated viaduct continues until
25th Street to serve the
23rd Street interchange at exit 7. This exit serves the neighborhood of
Kips Bay. At 23rd Street, Avenue C continues as the northbound
service road for the FDR Drive, while the southbound lanes split from the main highway at 25th Street.
Midtown
![FDR Drive NB approaching NY 25](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/FDR_Drive_NB_approaching_NY_25.jpeg/1200px-FDR_Drive_NB_approaching_NY_25.jpeg)
The FDR Drive continues north as an at-grade road, with the
Waterside Plaza
Waterside Plaza is a residential and business complex located on the East River in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan, New York City. It was formerly a Mitchell-Lama Housing Program-funded rental project.
History
Waterside Plaza was built on l ...
complex located along the East River to the east of the parkway. The southbound lanes ascend to a viaduct at
28th Street, and the southbound lanes ascend at
30th Street. There are a southbound entrance and northbound exit at ground level at 28th-30th Streets, where the southbound service road begins again. The northbound exit, labeled exit 8, serves
34th Street in
Murray Hill, which is located four blocks north; the FDR Drive service road curves underneath the main highway until 36th Street. Another southbound entrance is located at 34th Street itself, and rises to the viaduct level.
At 38th Street, the northbound-only exit 9 for
42nd Street, serving
Turtle Bay, splits from FDR Drive. Exit 9 continues as an elevated ramp until the intersection of 42nd Street and
First Avenue, where it becomes the westbound lanes of 42nd Street. The FDR Drive dips onto street level and merges with the northbound service road. The southbound service road continues parallel to the FDR Drive, and the southbound exit 8 splits from the parkway near 41st Street. The southbound service road then becomes the eastbound lanes of 42nd Street.
The
headquarters of the United Nations was constructed on a platform above the at-grade FDR Drive from 42nd to 48th Streets.
The southbound roadway is inside a later structure resembling a tunnel while the northbound roadway is located just outside of the tunnel.
This section is often referred to as the United Nations Tunnel, even though only the westernmost lane of the northbound roadway is under the structure.
At 48th Street, the FDR Drive emerges from the United Nations tunnel. A northbound ramp from First Avenue merges onto the northbound roadway. The southbound roadway contains two exits: exit 10 at 49th Street, and exit 11 at 53rd Street.
At 54th Street, the road enters the Sutton Place Tunnel, which passes under apartment buildings on the east side of
Sutton Place and York Avenue until 60th Street.
In this tunnel, the southbound roadway is raised and runs over the northbound roadway for northbound access to and from the
Queensboro Bridge
The Queensboro Bridge, officially named the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, is a cantilever bridge over the East River in New York City. Completed in 1909, it connects the neighborhood of Long Island City in the borough of Queens with the Upper East ...
interchange (exit 12).
As part of the design in this area, numerous homes on the river were demolished and rebuilt or otherwise modified to accommodate the highway.
At 63rd Street, the southbound lanes descend to ground level, at the same elevation as the northbound lanes.
Uptown
From 63rd to 71st Streets, the FDR Drive passes under a series of interconnected at-grade tunnels. The segment from 63rd to 68th Street runs under an annex constructed by
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classif ...
, while the section of roadway between 68th and 71st Streets runs underneath the
piloti
Pilotis, or piers, are supports such as columns, pillars, or stilts that lift a building above ground or water. They are traditionally found in stilt and pole dwellings such as fishermen's huts in Asia and Scandinavia using wood, and in elev ...
s of the
NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital. Afterward, the FDR Drive continues north at ground level. There is a southbound-only entrance and exit, labeled exit 13, at 71st–73rd Streets, serving
Lenox Hill
Lenox Hill () is a neighborhood on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It forms the lower section of the Upper East Side—east of Park Avenue in the 60s and 70s.
A significant portion of the neighborhood lies within the Upper East Side Historic Dist ...
on the
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...
. Another southbound-only entrance exists at
79th Street; there is no exit from either direction, nor is there any exit number reserved for this interchange.
![P9280090_(21176901283)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/P9280090_%2821176901283%29.jpg)
From 81st to 90th streets runs a final, enclosed double-decker structure. The southbound roadway is again raised over the northbound roadway in a short segment of the tunnel between 81st and 86th Streets.
The promenade of
Carl Schurz Park
Carl Schurz Park is a public park in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, named for German-born Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz in 1910, at the edge of what was then the solidly German-American community of Yorkville. ...
was built over the highway in 1939, near
Gracie Mansion, the New York City mayor's residence. There is a southbound entrance to the FDR Drive at the intersection of 92nd Street and York Avenue. York Avenue then parallels the FDR Drive until
96th Street, where York Avenue ends. The FDR Drive ascends onto a short elevated viaduct over the 96th Street interchange (exit 14) then descends to street level again.
The remaining portion of the FDR Drive to the
125th Street interchange (exit 19) is at grade, passing through
East Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
. There is a southbound-only entrance at 102nd Street, as well as a southbound-only exit at
106th Street, labeled exit 15. At
116th Street, there is another southbound-only exit and entrance numbered exit 16. When the FDR Drive reaches 120th Street, there are three northbound exits in quick succession: exit 17 for the
Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; formerly known and still commonly referred to as the Triborough Bridge) is a complex of bridges and elevated expressway viaducts in New York City. The bridges link the boroughs of Manhattan, Queens, a ...
, exit 18 for the
Willis Avenue Bridge, and exit 19 for 125th Street. Exit 17 also contains a southbound exit and entrance to and from the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, and exit 19 also hosts a southbound entrance. The FDR Drive transitions into the
Harlem River Drive and continues north after 125th Street.
History
![Fdr8north](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Fdr8north.JPG)
A shorefront parkway in Manhattan along the East River was first proposed by Manhattan Borough President
Julius Miller
Julius Miller (January 12, 1880 – February 3, 1955) was a judge and politician in New York City. He was a public figue for fuur decades, seving as Manhattan Borough President from 1922 to 1930, and as a New York State Supreme Court judge from ...
in 1929. The parkway would extend from South Street to 54th Street. The first sections of the East River Drive were constructed in the 1930s and were designed 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 ...
. Moses faced the difficulties of building a parkway/boulevard combination along the East River while minimizing disruptions to residents. Many property owners along the East River Drive, especially in Midtown, opposed the boulevard unless noise mitigation measures were added.
The section from
125th Street and the
Triborough Bridge ramp south to 92nd Street was completed in 1936. The sections from 92nd Street down to
Battery Park (with the exception of a section from
42nd
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
to 49th Streets, located underneath the
headquarters of the United Nations) were built as a boulevard running at street level.
The first "downtown" section of the boulevard, between
Grand
Grand may refer to:
People with the name
* Grand (surname)
* Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor
* Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist
* Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper
Places
* Grand, Oklahoma
* Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...
and 12th Streets, was completed in June 1937. Two more downtown sections, from 12th to
14th
14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15.
In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen".
In mathematics
* 14 is a composite number.
* 14 is a square pyramidal number.
* 14 is a s ...
Streets and then from 14th to 18th Streets, were opened in 1939. A short connector from Grand to Montgomery Street was completed in May 1940, which meant that the boulevard was now continuous from Montgomery to 30th Streets. The next month, a large stretch from 49th to 92nd Streets opened. By this point, the only contiguous section that remained to be completed was the stretch between 30th and 49th Streets.
Around this time, city officials started making plans for reconstructing existing sections of the boulevard so that several intersections would be grade-separated or double-decked. A plan to build a three-level section from 81st to 89th Streets was released in April 1940,
followed by an East River Drive overpass over
96th Street in June. Due to a bulkhead restriction, a section from 51st to 60th Streets was already being built with two decks.
The section of the East River Drive from
23rd to
34th Streets was completed in October 1941. Known as the Bristol Basin, this section was built on wartime
rubble dumped by cargo ships returning from
Bristol
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The German
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
bombed Bristol heavily. After delivering war supplies to the British, the ships' crews loaded rubble onto the ships for
ballast, then sailed back to New York, where construction crews made use of it. On June 29, 1942, a plaque commemorating the use of rubble was dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, and is currently installed at the
Waterside Plaza
Waterside Plaza is a residential and business complex located on the East River in the Kips Bay section of Manhattan, New York City. It was formerly a Mitchell-Lama Housing Program-funded rental project.
History
Waterside Plaza was built on l ...
complex. The final part of the original boulevard, between 34th and 49th Streets, opened in May 1942. Future reconstruction designs from 1948 to 1966 converted the FDR Drive into the full parkway that is in use today.
Upon the death of
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, the East River Drive was dedicated to him in June 1945. The drive is now commonly called the "FDR Drive".
An elevated ramp between 18th and 25th Streets, serving as an extension of the highway south of 23rd Street, was completed in 1949, replacing an at-grade section. Another elevated highway above
South Street, connecting the at-grade parkway north of Grand Street to the
Battery Park Underpass
The Battery Park Underpass is a vehicular tunnel at the southernmost tip of Manhattan, New York City, near the neighborhoods of South Ferry and Battery Park City. The tunnel connects FDR Drive, which runs along the east side of Manhattan Island ...
and
Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel at the southern tip of Manhattan, was completed in May 1954.
![FDR Drive - New York City, New York (6818047361)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/FDR_Drive_-_New_York_City%2C_New_York_%286818047361%29.jpg)
In Kips Bay, the FDR Drive is located on a viaduct between 30th and 37th Streets. The southbound and northbound roadways rise onto a viaduct separately between 28th and 30th Streets; the southbound roadway ascends onto the viaduct at 28th Street, followed by the northbound roadway at 30th Street, and the two roadways merge into a single structure at 32nd Street. At this point, there is a two-lane shoulder on the left side of the northbound roadway, with one of the lanes cordoned off by a short concrete barrier. There is a provision for a southbound exit and northbound entrance at 30th Street, which was built in 1967 and would have connected to the
Mid-Manhattan Expressway. However, after plans for the expressway were abandoned, this exit was never used, largely because there was already an exit four blocks north, at 34th Street. The unused exit was then blocked with a semi-permanent concrete barricade.
Exit 6, at 15th Street, formerly passed through a
Con Edison substation, which handles most of the electricity for lower Manhattan. It was closed after the
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
after city and ConEd officials concluded it was too risky to allow such easy access to such a critical piece of infrastructure.
[ The exit was permanently removed in 2014 after the ]New York State Department of Transportation
The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the development and operation of highways, railroads, mass transit systems, ports, waterways and aviation facilities in ...
received notification from the New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
that the exit would not be re-opened since the ConEd facility was deemed a potential terrorist target. East 15th Street, as well as a corresponding entrance ramp from 14th Street, were also closed east of Avenue C, except to ConEdison and law enforcement vehicles. All signage of exit 6 was removed in early 2016.
Transportation
The express buses use the FDR Drive between its start in Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
and 23rd Street. In addition, the use the FDR Drive between the Brooklyn Bridge
The Brooklyn Bridge is a hybrid cable-stayed/ suspension bridge in New York City, spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. Opened on May 24, 1883, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River ...
exit and 34th Street
The buses use the FDR between Brooklyn Bridge and 23rd Street during the off-peak hours, but during the peak hour
A rush hour (American English, British English) or peak hour (Australian English) is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest. Normally, this happens twice every weekday: on ...
, "Midtown Express" buses skip Downtown, running directly up the FDR to 23rd.
Exit list
References
External links
FDR Drive (Greater New York Roads)
{{Authority control
Parkways in New York City
Monuments and memorials to Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States
Transportation in Manhattan