Bruckner Expressway

"Bruckner Boulevard" redirects here. For the road in Dallas, Texas, see Buckner Boulevard.

Bruckner Expressway
Henry Bruckner Expressway
Map Map of the Bronx in New York City with Bruckner Expressway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by NYSDOT
Length	7.02 mi (11.30 km)
Component highways	I-278 from Port Morris to Throggs Neck I-95 from Throggs Neck to Pelham Bay Park
Major junctions
South end	I-87 / I-278 in Port Morris
Major intersections	NY 895 in Hunts Point Bronx River Parkway in Soundview I-295 / I-678 / Hutchinson River Parkway in Throggs Neck
North end	I-95 / Pelham Parkway in Pelham Bay Park
Location
Country	United States
State	New York
Highway system
New York Highways Interstate US State (Former) Reference Parkways

The Bruckner Expressway is a freeway in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It carries Interstate 278 (I-278) and I-95 (and formerly I-878) from the Triborough Bridge to the south end of the New England Thruway at the Pelham Parkway interchange. The highway follows a mostly northeast–southwest alignment through the southern portion of the borough, loosely paralleling the course of the East River. It connects to several major freeways including the Bronx River Parkway, and at the Bruckner Interchange, it connects to the Cross Bronx Expressway, the Whitestone Expressway, and the Hutchinson River Parkway.

Route description

I-278 (Bruckner Expressway) westbound at Stratford Avenue in the Bronx

The expressway begins at the northern approach to the Triborough Bridge, where I-278 meets the southern end of I-87, here known as the Major Deegan Expressway. It heads to the northeast as an elevated highway, carrying the I-278 designation through the South Bronx. After 2 miles (3.2 km), the Bruckner Expressway meets NY 895 (Sheridan Boulevard) and turns eastward to cross the Bronx River into the Soundview neighborhood. Here, the highway connects to the Bronx River Parkway at an interchange one block north of that road's official southern terminus. The Bruckner Expressway remains I-278 into the adjacent neighborhood of Castle Hill, where I-278 enters the west half of the complicated Bruckner Interchange and I-95 transitions from the Cross Bronx Expressway to the Bruckner.

In the east half of the junction, located on the opposite bank of Westchester Creek in Throggs Neck, the Bruckner Expressway (now designated I-95) intersects the Hutchinson River Parkway, I-295, and I-678. I-295 proceeds southeast from the Bruckner Interchange as the Cross Bronx Expressway Extension, while the Hutchinson Parkway and I-678 head to the north and south, respectively. The Bruckner eventually makes a turn to the north as well, connecting with I-695 in the process. The Hutchinson and the Bruckner follow mostly parallel alignments to Pelham Bay Park, where the Bruckner Expressway ends at an interchange with the Pelham Parkway. I-95 continues north from this point as the New England Thruway.

History

I-95 (Bruckner Expressway) southbound at Westchester Avenue adjacent to Pelham Bay Park

The Bruckner Expressway was a project envisioned by Robert Moses, who steered the Bruckner through the Soundview section of the Bronx, further altering the neighborhood after the 15-year construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway, which was completed in 1963. The Bruckner Expressway itself was completed in 1973, making it one of the last roads of the New York City Expressway system to be built. Construction on the expressway begun in 1957, with sections opening from 1961 up to the opening of the reconstructed Bruckner Interchange on January 2, 1973. It is named in honor of former Bronx Borough President and Congressman, Henry Bruckner (1871–1942), and was built on and over the roadway of Bruckner Boulevard (Originally called Eastern Boulevard).

Unlike the Cross Bronx Expressway, which cut through the existing street grid, the Bruckner Expressway was built along the Bruckner Boulevard alignment (except at its western end, where the Bruckner Expressway and Major Deegan Expressway meet). Between Sheridan Boulevard and the eastern end of the Bruckner Expressway, the Bruckner Boulevard is the service road, except at the Bruckner Interchange, where Bruckner Boulevard passes underneath the flying junction. West of Sheridan Boulevard, Bruckner Boulevard is underneath the expressway, and extends past the expressway's western terminus for about 0.5 miles (0.80 km), ending under the Third Avenue Bridge.

In 2019, the New York State Department of Transportation began a $1.1 billion project to rebuild parts of the Bruckner Expressway and improve traffic flow, which would reduce air and noise pollution. The project would rebuild the interchanges with both Sheridan Boulevard and Hunts Point Avenue, add a third lane in both directions of the Bruckner, and rebuild four bridges.

Exit list

The entire route is in the New York City borough of the Bronx. 

Location	mi	km	Old exit	New exit	Destinations	Notes
Port Morris	0.00	0.00		–	I-278 west (Robert F. Kennedy Bridge) – Manhattan, Queens, Randalls Island	Bridge with electronic toll collection
			44	47	I-87 north (Major Deegan Expressway) to New York Thruway – Albany	Southern terminus of I-87
	0.60	0.97	45	48	East 138th Street
Hunts Point	1.50	2.41	46	49	NY 895 north (Sheridan Boulevard) to East 177th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound left entrance; southern terminus of NY 895
	1.90	3.06		50	Hunts Point Avenue – Hunts Point Market	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Bronx River	2.00	3.22	Eastern Boulevard Drawbridge
Soundview	2.20	3.54		51	Bronx River Avenue	Westbound exit only
	2.30– 2.70	3.70– 4.35	51	52	Bronx River Parkway north – White Plains	No westbound exit; exits 2E-W on Bronx River Parkway
	3.00– 3.50	4.83– 5.63	52	53	White Plains Road / Castle Hill Avenue
Throggs Neck (Bruckner Interchange)	3.60– 4.00	5.79– 6.44		54	I-295 south / I-678 south / Hutchinson River Parkway north / Zerega Avenue – Throgs Neck Bridge, Whitestone Bridge	Westbound access via exits 6A-B; northern termini of I-295 and I-678; southern terminus of Hutchinson Parkway
	4.50	7.24	11	6A	I-678 south – Whitestone Bridge	Westbound exit only; exit 19W on I-678
	4.73	7.61	12	6B	I-95 south (Cross Bronx Expressway) – George Washington Bridge I-278 ends	Western end of I-95 concurrency; eastern terminus of I-278; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Schuylerville	5.40	8.69	13	7A	I-695 south to I-295 south – Throgs Neck Bridge	Southbound exit and northbound entrance; northern terminus of I-695
	5.50	8.85	14	7B	East Tremont Avenue	Southbound exit only
Country Club	5.60– 6.00	9.01– 9.66	15	7C	Country Club Road – Pelham Bay Park	Northbound exit and entrance
	6.00– 6.60	9.66– 10.62	16	8A	Westchester Avenue	No northbound exit
Pelham Bay Park	6.50– 7.02	10.46– 11.30	17-18	8	Pelham Parkway west – Orchard Beach, City Island	Signed as exits 8B (Orchard Beach) and 8C (Pelham Parkway) southbound; eastern terminus of Pelham Parkway
				–	I-95 north (New England Thruway) – New Haven	Continuation beyond Pelham Parkway
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Electronic toll collection       Incomplete access       Route transition