Sprain Brook Parkway

Sprain Brook Parkway
Sprain Brook Parkway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length	12.65 mi[1] (20.36 km)
Existed	1961–present
History	Full length opened October 28, 1980[2]
Restrictions	No commercial vehicles
Major junctions
South end	Bronx River Parkway / Cross County Parkway in Yonkers
Major intersections	NY 100 in Yonkers NY 100B in Greenburgh I-287 in Elmsford NY 100 / NY 100A / NY 100C in Greenburgh NY 100 in Hawthorne
North end	NY 141 / Taconic State Parkway / Saw Mill River Parkway in Hawthorne
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Counties	Westchester
Highway system
New York Highways Interstate US State Reference Parkways

The Sprain Brook Parkway (also known as the Sprain Parkway or The Sprain) is a 12.65-mile (20.36 km) controlled-access parkway in Westchester County, New York, United States. It begins at an interchange with the Bronx River Parkway in the city of Yonkers, and ends at the former site of the Hawthorne Circle, where it merges into the Taconic State Parkway. The parkway serves an alternate to the Bronx River Parkway, boasting an interchange connection through western Westchester with Interstate 287. New York's Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) refers to it internally as New York State Route 987F (NY 987F), an unsigned reference route.

The Sprain Brook was first proposed in the early 1920s as a parkway between the Bronx River Parkway and the Hawthorne Circle. The parkway sold a majority of its right-of-way in the 1920s, but the proposed parkway met strong opposition from the village of Bronxville and Yonkers. The Sprain Brook proposal sat on the table until 1949, when the State Council of Parks, run by Robert Moses, sought to ease congestion on the Bronx River Parkway. Moses proposed that a new state park would be constructed in Westchester, with the Sprain Brook Parkway serving as a traffic alternative to the Bronx River, and nearly a decade and a half after the parkway was deeded land. This time, Bronxville opposed the project rather than Yonkers, but an agreement was worked out in 1951. This new alignment would bypass the parts of Bronxville and Yonkers to construct the freeway.

Construction of the alternative highway began in 1958, with the stretch from the Bronx River Parkway to Tuckahoe Road. This section was completed in 1961. The next piece, from Tuckahoe Road to Jackson Avenue, was constructed during 1962 and 1963, with it opening in the latter. Construction continued to the Cross Westchester Expressway (I-287) and was completed in 1969. At this point, the last missing piece was between the Cross Westchester and the Hawthorne Circle. This piece was delayed until 1976, when construction began on the last 2.7 miles (4.3 km) of parkway. The last piece of the parkway was opened on October 28, 1980, having cost $25 million (equivalent to $92 million in 2023).

From its opening in 1961 until 1979, the parkway was maintained by the East Hudson Parkway Authority, a commission created to maintain tolls on the Saw Mill River Parkway, the Bronx River Parkway and to provide general maintenance for the Taconic State Parkway. The authority was abolished in 1979, at which time, all maintenance of the Sprain Brook Parkway was turned over to NYSDOT.