Taconic State Parkway | |
|---|---|
 Taconic State Parkway highlighted in red | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by NYSDOT | |
| Length | 104.12 mi[1] (167.56 km) |
| Existed | 1925–present |
| Restrictions | No trucks, buses, trailers, or vehicles over 8 feet tall; no drivers with learner's permits south of exit 23[2] |
| Major junctions | |
| South end |   NY 22 / Bronx River Parkway in North Castle |
| |
| North end |   I-90 / Berkshire Connector in Chatham |
| Location | |
| Country | United States |
| State | New York |
| Counties | Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Columbia |
| Highway system | |
Taconic State Parkway | |
| Area | 7,067 acres (2,860 ha) |
| Architect | Westchester County Park Commission; et al. |
| NRHP reference No. | 05001398[3] |
| Added to NRHP | December 8, 2005 |
The Taconic State Parkway (often called the Taconic or the TSP) is a 104.12-mile (167.56 km) limited-access parkway between Kensico Dam and Chatham, the longest in the U.S. state of New York. It follows a generally north–south route midway between the Hudson River and the Connecticut and Massachusetts state lines, much of its upper section along the westernmost flank of the Taconic Mountains. It is open only to passenger vehicles, as with other parkways in New York, and maintained by the state Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), the fourth agency to have that responsibility.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had long envisioned a scenic road through the eastern Hudson Valley, was instrumental in making it a reality as a way to provide access to existing and planned state parks in the region. Its winding, hilly route was designed by landscape architect Gilmore Clarke to offer scenic vistas of the Hudson Highlands, Catskills and Taconic regions. The bridges and now-closed service areas were designed to be aesthetically pleasing. It has been praised for the beauty of not only the surrounding landscape and views it offers, but the way the road itself integrates with and presents them.
It was completed in its present form in the early 1960s. In 2005, the entire highway, including its supporting structures, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its historic importance in the development of parkways in the 20th century, and Roosevelt's role in creating it. It is the second-longest continuous road listed on the Register after Virginia's Skyline Drive, and the longest limited-access highway.[4][a]
The parkway continues to provide access to several state parks, including Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park. It has also become an important regional artery, one of the primary routes to northern New England and the Capital Region of New York from the Hudson Valley, New York City and Long Island. The southern sections, particularly in Westchester County, have become a commuter route into the city for residents who moved into towns that became suburbanized as a result of the parkway. The state and regional transportation planners have worked to adapt to this change since the 1940s.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
2007tdrwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (June 28, 2017). "Learner Permit Restrictions". New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Retrieved March 10, 2018.
- ^ "National Register Information System – (#05001398)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Records". geocaching.com. Retrieved February 2, 2018.
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