Yesterday I was driving up to Albany on the Cross Bronx Expressway. I have done this hundreds of times through the years and always knew it was a tough place to drive. In the past it was always about the constant congestion even at 2AM! It was always the dread of going to New Jersey because of all the traffic that moves at a snails pace. Well, yesterday was different. I was heading North in the left lane of the parkway and the moment I passed the overpass at Undercliff Avenue I heard…BOOM! For a split second I thought a gunshot had blown out my back window. In fact there was major construction going on at the Undercliff overpass and something must have gone through my back window and blasted out the window. Now, forgetting for a moment that a fraction of a second later would have caused the front window to bear the brunt of the damage(as well the driver,me!) what is going on with this Parkway? After doing my own little research here is why I have found out:
1.The Cross Bronx Expressway is one of the few if not the only parkway that allows commercial traffic. Indeed at any given time of the day there are tons of trucks including tractor trailers speeding along the parkway. It makes it a dangerous place for the average motor vehicle driver.
2. The Cross Bronx Expressway has more potholes than it know what to do with it. There are numerous stories of articles of accidents from potholes along the parkway which make it dangerous and a major cause of car accidents in The Bronx.
3.”The Chute” of the Cross Bronx Parkway which begins at the the Northen part of the New Jersey Turnpike and catapults you onto the narrow lanes of the parkway is particularly dangerous for drivers.
4. Finally, you have multiple overpasses which creates opportunities for objects to be thrown onto the parkway(sometimes intentional).
There are many alternatives to the Parkway. You can take the Grand Central Parkway up to the Bronx(through the Triboro Bridge); the Hutchison Parkway; the Bronx River Parkway; and the Sheridan Expressway. Pick any one. It has to be better than the death trap otherwise known as the Cross Bronx Expressway.