Palisades Interstate Parkway

Palisades Interstate Parkway
Map of the New York City metropolitan area with Palisades Interstate Parkway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Length	37.00 mi[1][2] (59.55 km)
Existed	1958[3]–present
Component highways	Route 445 (unsigned) in New Jersey NY 987C (unsigned) in New York
Tourist routes	Palisades Scenic Byway
Restrictions	No commercial vehicles[4][5]
Major junctions
South end	I-95 / US 1-9 / US 9W / US 46 / Route 67 in Fort Lee, NJ
Major intersections	US 9W / CR 505 in Englewood Cliffs, NJ NY 303 in Tappan, NY CR 20 in Orangeburg, NY NY 59 in West Nyack, NY I-87 / I-287 / New York Thruway in West Nyack, NY US 202 / NY 45 / CR 47 in Mount Ivy, NY US 6 / Seven Lakes Drive in Harriman State Park
North end	US 6 / US 9W / US 202 in Bear Mountain State Park
Location
Country	United States
States	New Jersey, New York
Counties	NJ: Bergen NY: Rockland, Orange
Highway system
New Jersey State Highway Routes Interstate US State Scenic Byways
New York Highways Interstate US State Reference Parkways
← Route 444 Route 445 → Route 446

The Palisades Interstate Parkway (PIP) is a 38.25-mile (61.56 km) controlled-access parkway in the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York. The parkway is a major commuter route into New York City from Rockland and Orange counties in New York and Bergen County in New Jersey. The southern terminus of the route is at the George Washington Bridge in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where it connects to Interstate 95 (I-95), US 1-9, and US 46. Its northern terminus is at a traffic circle in Fort Montgomery, New York, where the PIP meets US 9W and US 202 at the Bear Mountain Bridge. At exit 18, the PIP forms a concurrency with US 6 for the remaining duration of its run.

The route is named for the Hudson River Palisades, a line of cliffs rising along the western side of the Hudson River. The PIP is designated, but not signed as Route 445 in New Jersey and New York State Route 987C (NY 987C), an unsigned reference route, in New York. As with most parkways in the New York metropolitan area, commercial traffic is prohibited from using the PIP. The Palisades Interstate Parkway was built from 1947 to 1958, and fully opened to traffic on August 28, 1958.

The mainline of the parkway is designated as Route 445 in New Jersey and NY 987C in New York. The latter is one of New York's reference routes.^[1][2] A 0.42-mile (0.68 km) spur connecting the parkway to US 9W in Fort Lee, New Jersey, is designated Route 445S.^[6] All three designations are unsigned and used only for inventory purposes. The parkway is owned and maintained by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission but occasional maintenance is performed by the New Jersey and New York state departments of transportation.^[7][8] Commercial vehicles are prohibited on the entire length of the Palisades Interstate Parkway.^[4][5] The speed limit on the highway used to be 50 mph (80 km/h) south of the New York State Thruway and 55 mph (89 km/h) north of it. As of October 2018, it is 55 mph for the entire length.^[9]

The Palisades Interstate Parkway begins at the George Washington Bridge (GWB) in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Passengers from the upper level of the GWB can directly access the PIP northbound, while passengers from the lower level of the bridge must travel through GWB Plaza on US 9W before getting on the parkway. Passengers traveling northbound on the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) must be in local lanes to directly get on the PIP. Once the PIP leaves the GWB, it proceeds north along the New Jersey Palisades, past the Englewood Cliffs Service Area. Unlike service areas further north along the parkway, there are two in Englewood Cliffs, one for northbound drivers and one for southbound drivers. The others are in the center median shared by drivers going in both directions. There are also three different scenic lookout points over the Palisades near the northern tip of the island of Manhattan at the Harlem River. After this, the PIP parallels US 9W and the Hudson River for its entire run in New Jersey. The PIP leaves New Jersey into New York in the borough of Rockleigh.^[10]

The entire New Jersey portion of the Palisades Interstate Parkway is within Bergen County. It is designated as a state scenic byway known as the Palisades Scenic Byway.^[11] The PIP, the New Jersey Turnpike, Interstate 278, and Interstate 676 are the only highways that use sequential exit numbering in New Jersey; all others in the state are based on mileage, except for the Atlantic City–Brigantine Connector in Atlantic City, which uses lettered exits (no numerals).^[12]

The parkway enters Rockland County in the hamlet of Palisades. At about the border the PIP changes direction from due north along the Hudson River to a north-west direction. Shortly after the Kings Ferry Service Area in the center median, the first two exits in New York are key exits for two colleges in Rockland County. Exit 5 provides a link to St. Thomas Aquinas College, and exit 6 provides a link to Dominican College. In West Nyack, the PIP has a key interchange with the New York State Thruway (I-87 and I-287). This intersection is about seven miles (11 km) west of the Tappan Zee Bridge. After the PIP's interchange with the NY Thruway, the PIP turns slightly north-east. At exit 13, the PIP intersects US 202 as the route crosses south of Harriman State Park in Mount Ivy. This is the first of two meetings between the PIP and US 202. At exit 15, the PIP has its last busy intersection in Rockland County with County Route 106 (CR 106, formerly part of NY 210) in Stony Point. From here, the PIP enters Harriman State Park, and at exit 16, the PIP intersects Lake Welch Parkway, which is one of several parkways commissioned within the park.^[10]

The parkway enters Orange County north of Lake Welch Parkway at exit 16 and south of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission Visitor Center, located in the center median in what was originally a parkway service area. The first interchange in Orange County is exit 17 at Anthony Wayne Recreation Area. At exit 18, the PIP intersects US 6 and Seven Lakes Drive. US 6 west heads toward the Thruway and NY 17 five miles (8 km) west in Harriman. US 6 east forms the PIP's only concurrency for the last two miles (3 km) of the PIP's run. Seven Lakes Drive joins the two routes for one mile (1.6 km) before departing at exit 19. The two routes then enter Bear Mountain State Park in an eastern direction. Finally, the Palisades Interstate Parkway meets its end at US 9W and US 202 at a traffic circle near the Hudson River and the Bear Mountain Bridge. US 6 and US 202 head east over the bridge, while US 9W heads north toward the United States Military Academy in West Point.^[10] (Southbound US 9W, breaking off to the right, is the same road as westbound US 202.)^{[clarification needed]}

Palisade Interstate Parkway[13]
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Coordinates	41°4′37.2″N 73°59′2.4″W / 41.077000°N 73.984000°W / 41.077000; -73.984000
Area	3,311 acres (1,340 ha)
NRHP reference No.	99000940[14]
NJRHP No.	102[15]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	August 2, 1999
Designated NJRHP	October 3, 1999

In 1933–34, the first thoughts of a Palisades Interstate Parkway were developed by engineer and environmentalist William A. Welch, who was general manager and chief engineer of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission.^[16] The plan was to build a parkway to connect the New Jersey Palisades with the state parks along the Hudson River in Rockland and Orange counties. Welch would soon garner the support of John D. Rockefeller, who donated 700 acres (2.8 km²) of land along the New Jersey Palisades overlooking the Hudson River in 1933.^[17] With this favorable momentum for the new route, the proposed route was accepted as a Civil Works Administration project under Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal coalition. However, the New Jersey Highway Commission did not support construction, so the idea of a parkway was put on hold.^[17] Instead, they built an 8 mile (13 km) road along the western bank of the Hudson River called the Henry Hudson Drive, a small scenic road that is a precursor to the Parkway and is still open today.^[18]

During the 1940s, Rockefeller renewed the push for a parkway along the New Jersey Palisades, and teamed with ultimate PIP planner, Robert Moses, to establish and design the parkway. The plan originally was to have the PIP stretch from the Garden State Parkway, along the Hudson River, to the George Washington Bridge, and then north along its present-day route ending at the Bear Mountain Bridge. This southern extension was never built, but construction began on the current PIP in New York on April 1, 1947. Construction on the New Jersey portion began about one year later, paralleling the nearby Henry Hudson Drive.^[3] Construction was delayed twice due to material shortages, but that did not stop the PIP from being opened in stages during the 1940s and 1950s. The route was completed in New Jersey in 1957, and on August 28, 1958, the final piece of the PIP was completed between exits 5 and 9 in southern Rockland County.^[3]

The PIP is known for its stone arch overpasses throughout its route and its several scenic overlooks in New Jersey. All sorts of unique trees and flowers can be seen along the route as well. In 1998, because of all the natural and constructed beauty, the PIP was designated as a national landmark by the National Park Service.^[19]

The Parkway suffered from severe flooding and a minor structural collapse on July 9, 2023 near the Bear Mountain Bridge as a result of severe storms.^[20]

While most highways in the U.S. reset their mile markers and exit numbers when crossing a state line, the Palisades Parkway does not reset either.

State	County	Location	mi [1][2]	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
New Jersey	Bergen	Fort Lee	0.00	0.00	–	I-95 north (George Washington Bridge Upper Level)	Southern terminus; exit 74 on I-95
			0.31	0.50	–	Hudson Terrace	Southbound exit and entrance
					–	US 9W (Fletcher Avenue) / Route 67 south to I-95 south / I-80 west / US 46 west / Route 4 west – Fort Lee	Access via Route 445S; southbound exit and northbound entrance; Route 67 not signed
			0.96– 1.03	1.54– 1.66	Gas stations (one on each side, no crossover)
		Englewood Cliffs	1.93	3.11	1	US 9W / Palisade Avenue (CR 505) – Englewood Cliffs, Englewood	US 9W not signed
			2.60	4.18	Rockefeller Lookout (northbound only)
		Alpine	5.43	8.74	Alpine Lookout (northbound only)
			7.52	12.10	2	US 9W – Alpine, Closter
			9.17	14.76	Palisades Interstate Park Commission Visitor Center & State Line Lookout
					3	US 9W	Northbound access is via center median u-turn ramp
			10.44	16.80	4	US 9W – Sparkill, NY, Piermont, NY
			11.06	17.80	New Jersey–New York state line
New York	Rockland	Sparkill	12.75	20.52	Sparkill Service Area
		Tappan	13.50	21.73	5	NY 303 – Orangeburg, Tappan	Signed as exits 5N (north) and 5S (south)
		Orangeburg	14.40	23.17	6	CR 20 (Orangeburg Road) – Orangeburg, Pearl River	Signed as exits 6E (east) and 6W (west)
		West Nyack	17.20	27.68	7	CR 42 (Town Line Road) – Nanuet, West Nyack
			18.00	28.97	8	NY 59 – Nyack, Spring Valley	Signed as exits 8E (east) and 8W (west)
			18.80	30.26	9	I-87 / I-287 (New York Thruway) – White Plains, New York City, Albany	Signed as exits 9E (south/east) and 9W (north/west); exits 13N-S on I-87 / I-287 / Thruway
		New City	20.40	32.83	10	CR 33 (North Middletown Road) – New City, Nanuet
		New Hempstead	22.50	36.21	11	CR 80 (New Hempstead Road) – New City, New Square
			24.00	38.62	12	NY 45 – New Hempstead, Spring Valley	Serves Clover Stadium
		Pomona	25.20	40.56	13	US 202 / NY 45 south / CR 47 north – Pomona, Haverstraw, Suffern	Northern terminus of NY 45; southern terminus of CR 47
		Stony Point	27.50	44.26	14	CR 98 (Willow Grove Road) – West Haverstraw
			28.60	46.03	15	CR 106 (Gate Hill Road) – Stony Point	Former NY 210
		Harriman State Park	29.90	48.12	16	Lake Welch Parkway south / Tiorati Brook Road west – Lake Welch, Sebago Beach	No northbound entrance; Tiorati Brook Road not signed
			33.10	53.27	Palisades Interstate Park Commission Visitor Center
	Orange		33.80	54.40	17	Anthony Wayne Recreation Area
			34.00	54.72	18	US 6 west / Seven Lakes Drive south to I-87 / New York Thruway / NY 17 – Central Valley	South end of US 6/Seven Lakes Drive overlap
		Bear Mountain State Park	34.60	55.68	19	Seven Lakes Drive north – Bear Mountain State Park	Signed as Perkins Memorial Drive; north end of Seven Lakes Drive overlap
			37.00	59.55	–	US 6 east / US 202 (Bear Mountain Bridge) / US 9W / US 6 Truck west – Fort Montgomery, West Point, Peekskill, Haverstraw	Bear Mountain Circle; northern terminus; north end of US 6 overlap; eastern terminus of US 6 Truck
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access

There are some rest areas on the Palisades Interstate Parkway.

• Sparkill (located just south of Exit 5, fuel and convenience store. Open 24 Hours. Park and Ride also available. Accessible both sides.) (New York)
• Englewood Cliffs (located past exit 1 just before the George Washington Bridge, fuel and convenience store. There are two separate rest areas on both sides. Phone service is also available.) (New Jersey)
• Alpine Lookout (Alpine): (North side only. Located near exit 2. Parking/scenic view area only. No fuel.) (New Jersey)
• Rockefeller Lookout (Englewood Cliffs): (North side only. Parking/scenic view area only. No fuel.) (New Jersey)
• Bear Mountain/Tomkins Cove (located between exits 16 and 17. Information and book store. No fuel. Accessible both sides.) (New York)
• State Line Lookout (Visitor center and lookout. No fuel). (New Jersey)

The Palisades Interstate Parkway Police is a highway law enforcement agency for protecting the Palisades Interstate Parkway and to enforce state and city laws in the New Jersey section of highway. Headquartered in Alpine, New Jersey on Alpine Approach Road. The department consists of one chief, two lieutenants, five sergeants, and seventeen patrol officers. There are also security guards available who were trained and hired for by the police academy. Other than patrol cars, the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police also uses police boats for marine patrols and a bicycle unit. [1]

• U.S. Roads portal
• New Jersey portal
• New York (state) portal
• Hudson Valley portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palisades Interstate Parkway.

• Palisades Interstate Parkway at Alps' Roads
• Palisades Interstate Parkway Archived February 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
• Palisades Interstate Parkway Police
• An enlarged view of road jurisdiction at the Fort Lee approaches to the George Washington Bridge
• Google maps satellite image of the southern end of the Parkway
• Palisades Parkway (NJ 445) (Greater New York Roads)
• Palisades Parkway (NY) (Greater New York Roads)