New York State Route 440 (NY 440) is a freeway located entirely on Staten Island in New York City. The route acts as a connector between the two segments of New Jersey Route 440, running from the Staten Island neighborhood of Charleston in the south to Port Richmond in the north. NY 440 is connected to the two New Jersey segments by the Outerbridge Crossing to the south and the Bayonne Bridge to the north. It is one of several signed New York State routes that are not connected to any others in the state, and one of only two New York State routes (NY 426 being the other) that is the middle section of another state's highway bearing the same number. From the Korean War Veterans Parkway to I-278, it is known as the West Shore Expressway. North of I-278, it is named the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (also known as the Willowbrook Expressway). NY 440 is the southernmost state route in the state of New York.

Route description

thumb|left|The West Shore Expressway northbound as seen from Meredith Avenue

NY 440 begins at the New York–New Jersey state line, mid-span on the east-west Outerbridge Crossing over the Arthur Kill in the Charleston neighborhood of Staten Island. The four-lane bridge crosses east through Charleston and over Arthur Kill Road.

After entering Staten Island, NY 440 passes through a toll barrier for eastbound traffic entering the city. Immediately following the toll barrier is a ramp to Page Avenue, the eastbound exit 1.

The West Shore Expressway continues north as a four-lane expressway, entering exit 3, a ramp to Woodrow Road going northbound. Crossing into the Rossville neighborhood, the expressway enters exit 3 southbound, connecting to Bloomingdale Road, and parallels a section of the Arthur Kill. Crossing north of South Shore Golf Course, the West Shore enters exit 4, an interchange with Huguenot Avenue. Continuing northeast, NY 440 is routed parallel with the eastern side of the former Fresh Kills Landfill, with exit 5 providing access to Arden Avenue. Bending northward once again, the West Shore crosses over Fresh Kills creek, and passes through a portion of the William T. Davis Wildlife Refuge. West Shore continues through the Chelsea-Travis neighborhood, accessible at exit 7 through a service road interchange with Victory Boulevard (itself previously designated as NY 439A, until ).

thumb|right|NY 440 northbound past I-278 in Staten Island

Running along the northern end of Travis, the West Shore Expressway parallels nearby railroad tracks before entering exit 8, a ramp to South Avenue and the Bloomfield neighborhood. Just a bit further north, the expressway enters exit 9 northbound, a single ramp to Glen Street. Just north of Glen Street, the West Shore Expressway enters a semi-directional T interchange with the northwest-southeast Staten Island Expressway portion of I-278. At this interchange, NY 440 and I-278 become concurrent for a short distance on the Staten Island Expressway, a four-lane expressway along the northern tier of Staten Island. Along this stretch, NY 440 and I-278 meet Richmond Avenue at exit 7. Just to the east, the expressway enters exit 9, which serves as a junction with the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway (the Dr. MLK Jr., also known, for its initial portion, as the Willowbrook Expressway). In the early 1950s, proposals surfaced for the Willowbrook Parkway, which would extend from Staten Island Marine Park (later Great Kills Park and now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area) on the island's East Shore to the Bayonne Bridge via Egbertville and Bulls Head. A second highway, the West Shore Expressway, was proposed . As proposed, it would begin at the Outerbridge Crossing and run along the west shore of Staten Island to meet the Clove Lakes Expressway (I-278) near the Goethals Bridge.

The first section of the Willowbrook Parkway—from I-278 north to modern exit 13—was completed by 1965. A short extension south to Victory Boulevard was opened to traffic by 1968. The highway was also renamed the Willowbrook Expressway by this time. NY 440 was realigned to follow the Willowbrook Expressway by 1970.

Drumgoole Boulevard was transformed into a freeway in the late 1960s and early 1970s and renamed the Richmond Parkway (now the Korean War Veterans Parkway) ; however, NY 440 initially continued to follow the parkway. The segment of the West Shore Expressway southwest of Huguenot Avenue was opened and became part of a realigned NY 440 on July 1, 1977. NY 440 left the expressway at Huguenot Avenue and followed Arthur Kill Road east to Richmond Avenue, where it continued north on its original alignment. The former alignment of NY 440 on the Richmond Parkway was redesignated as Temporary NY 440. When the West Shore Expressway was completed in 1976,

In the mid-1960s, officials in New Jersey and New York considered extending the I-287 designation eastward from its current terminus at the New Jersey Turnpike (I-95) to Staten Island via New Jersey Route 440 and the Richmond Parkway. The idea was eventually halted soon afterward. However, it is possible that the New York State Department of Transportation may reconsider these plans in the future. In 1990, the Willowbrook Expressway was renamed the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., the famous civil rights leader. However, it is sometimes still called the Willowbrook Expressway by many locals today. The West Shore Expressway was ceremonially designated the Pearl Harbor Veterans Expressway by New York Governor George Pataki in 1999. However, the expressway's official name did not change.

Exit list

See also

References

  • Outerbridge Crossing @ NYCROADS.com
  • West Shore Expressway(NY 440) @ NYCROADS.com
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Expressway(NY 440) @ NYCROADS.com
  • Bayonne Bridge @ NYCROADS.com
  • NY 440 (East Coast Roads)